


Supertinywords's Botw Femslash February

by Onlymostydead



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Arranged Marriage, Blood, Cheating, Confessions of love, Divorce, F/F, Fluff, Food, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, RWBY au, Trans Female Character, Trans Linkle, canon character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-10-20 15:48:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 38,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17625260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onlymostydead/pseuds/Onlymostydead
Summary: A collection of oneshots written for Femslash February! Requests for oneshots are open





	1. Zelpha - Tap Dancing

The things Zelda's father expected her to be perfect at were getting ridiculous. It seemed like he got an idea every summer about something she should do, and forced her into classes until she reached his standard of perfection.

The most recent seemed weirder than most: tap dancing. She understood when he wanted her to take ballroom dancing, since most of the boarding school kids she grew up with took it too, but tap? The first image in her head when she pictured tap dancing was a bunch of little kids clomping around in their loud tap shoes, blissfully unaware of the amount of noise they made.  
But she supposed that she would have to do it. When he decided that she would excel at something it was no use arguing. All she could do was go along with it, do her best, and hope it would be good enough.

After all, there had been quite a list of them, and she had been decent at them all.

Last year it was government, and he shipped her off to a little camp to compete with other girls. The year before it was baking; that was a lonely year. Before that still had been painting, which she had hid her mistakes in under the guise of Impressionism.  
All of those in addition to the normal lessons she had to take over every summer: piano, harp, and ballroom dance. Some kids, especially boarding school kids, looked forward to the freedom of the summer, but... She just hoped there was a kid in one of her classes who she could tolerate. The baking year had been especially terrible in that department, even if she enjoyed learning how to make her favorite fruitcake.

But now she stood in front of the door to the tap dancing studio, holding her breath before she entered. Mentally, she went through her checklist of things she had to do. In her bag were a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, tap shoes to change into, a water bottle, and a granola bar for after class. Right now she had her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, with only the pieces too short to fit left out. Se had earrings in, for once, in an attempt to look somewhat nice. No makeup, since she would probably sweat, green tank top and black leggings.  
That felt like the right way to dress for a tap dancing class... Right?

But as soon as she walked into the room, she knew that she was underdressed. She wished that she had at least put on some waterproof mascara.

Across the room, helping a little boy of about five into his tap shoes, was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. Her bright red braids were pulled back into a low ponytail, contrasting beautifully against her dark skin. There was a round, angelic quality to her face that Zelda couldn't help but fall in love with; every bit of her soft brows, long lashes, and full lips looked warm and kind. She was dressed similarly to herself, really, but she looked so amazing in her blue tank top and sleek black sweatpants that it may as well be totally opposite. 

The little boy grinned up at her and scampered away, tap shoes loud against the hardwood floor as he clomped over to where some other kids were playing. She only smiled, gracefully standing back up. Maybe they were siblings, Zelda thought to herself. They might have dyed their hair that bright red together.

Then, as if this couldn't get worse (better?) the girl noticed her and walked over. There was a certain bounce to her step, but it was soft and gentle at the same time. Zelda noticed that it was to avoid making so much noise on the floor. Clever.

"Hi! I don't think I've seen you here before, are you new?" She asked in the sweetest, brightest voice Zelda had ever heard.

Swallowing and trying to pull her gay self together, she nodded.

"Welcome! I'm Mipha."

Her eyes were the most striking amber color she had ever seen, warm and cozy, with little green flakes throughout. She wasn't sure how eyes could be that color, but it was really, really pretty. Like honey, but with little leaves... Or something. Like seeing the sun set through a tree.  
And suddenly she was very aware of the hand Mipha had been offering for a handshake this whole time. She blushed, and took it.

"Oh, I'm Zelda." She smiled, trying desperately to recover.

It was as if none of that awkward pause had happened, because Mipha just smiled a little wider. "It's good to meet you! You can set your bag over there... Sidon! Stop kicking that! I'm sorry, I'll be right back."

As she rushed off to deal with the little boy she had been helping earlier, Sidon, Zelda couldn't help but sigh, setting her bag down and putting on her shoes. Every time she looked up, there she was. 

Maybe tap dancing wouldn't be so bad after all.

***

It had been weeks now, and Zelda was sure that Mipha would never catch on that she liked her. Sure, she was trying to keep mostly quiet about it, in case someone less supportive heard, but...

Her heart soared when she had learned that Mipha was bi. It was that final piece holding her back though, that last question: did she feel the same?

And now tap class was over, and it would be another dull weekend waiting for the next Monday when they would have class again. They both wandered over to their bags, wiping their sweaty foreheads. They had both been getting a lot better, but it was still more difficult than it looked. Mipha made it look effortless.  
Besides, the room they were in tended to get pretty warm... And today Mipha was wearing little red shorts, the same color as her hair. Zelda had to make an effort to not stare. After the incident with the eyes, she couldn't afford to get caught awkwardly staring at her.

"Well, Zelda..." Mipha reached into her bag, pulling out her hoodie. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

Even if she was, Zelda would have given the same answer. "No, I'm free. Why?"

She smiled, so bright it was blinding. "Would you maybe... Want to go roller skating with me?"

"Of course!" Zelda tried, and failed, not to sound too excited. "What time?"

"Well, I..." Her eyes wandered to the floor. "I wanted to let you know... I meant for it to be a date... If you're not interested in that we can go as friends but-"

Zelda couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you being serious with me right now?"

She nodded.

"I've been trying to get the courage to ask you for weeks now!"

Mipha's whole face lit up. "Really, than-"

Zelda grinned, nodding enthusiastically.

"Girlfriends?"

A strike of fear hit Zelda.

"Shh," Zelda glanced over to make sure her dad wasn't here yet. "We'll have to keep it quiet, but... Yes. Girlfriends."

"Best friends, then." Mipha put air quotes around 'best friends,' grinning from ear to ear. "Sleepovers are allowed that way, anyway."

Instantly, she was blushing, bright red.

"I'm sorry, should I not have-"

"No, you're good." Zelda smiled. "I just wasn't expecting that, from you."

"Why not?"

"You just seem so... Innocent."

Mipha winked. "Here, we should exchange numbers, so we can work out the times later."

She agreed, and they exchanged numbers.

"Well, I guess..."

Zelda's heart was pounding, as if her body had just caught up to everything that just happened. She and Mipha were going in their first date tomorrow. That was really happening. The girl she had been crushing on for weeks now.

She leaned in slowly, then wet her dry lips. "May I kiss you?"

Mipha nodded, her eyes falling shut. Zelda gave one more glance over to make sure her dad wasn't there, and then...

"Hey, Mi-pha! Dad's here." Sidon's cheery little voice interrupted then, and they both took a step back.

"Oh, sorry, I..." Mipha looked down, bashful. "I guess I have to go."

"See you tomorrow?"

She smiled. "See you tomorrow."

As Mipha and Sidon walked away, Zelda could still easily hear them.

"Roller skating! Am I coming too?"

She laughed. "You'll have to ask dad."

"I'm coming." Sidon declared. "I like your friend, she's nice."

Mipha laughed again, then turned and waved at Zelda.

She waved back, and didn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.


	2. Payazuli - Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was written for Zzariyo, using their wonderful OC Meezuli! She's a short lil Rito cutie who's pretty levelheaded most of the time... Except when she's around a pretty girl.

When her Grandmother, Impa, told Paya that she should travel, she didn't know what to expect. Hyrule had never felt so vast, miles and miles of travel never really seeming to go anywhere. But more than that, out here, it was lonely.

She knew that she probably had no reason to feel this way, since she only left Kakariko a week ago, but already the world seemed wide open, and she felt very small. Some travelers passed by, but if they weren't scary men than they were intimidating, well dressed women that made her blush and stutter.

That was a surprising thing she had discovered as she traveled: this apparent attraction to women. Link was the only person she had ever felt this way about before, but now all of her senses seemed bombarded with these feelings. Not really knowing how to deal with them, she tried her best to just ignore them. 

It wasn't until she got to Rito Village that they became impossible to ignore.

"Oh! You must be Paya!"

A Rito girl with bright teal feathers and a cheery attitude met her while she was on her way to the inn, digging around in her satchel for... Something. From her cute little uniform, Paya would guess that she delivered mail.  
Instantly, she was smitten.

"Oh, sorry, that was kinda weird, wasn't it?" Her feathered ruffled, as if embarrassed. "I got a letter from your Grandmother, Impa, letting me know you were coming so I'd know who to deliver this letter to. Here it is."

She held out the little letter, in her wing-hand, what were you supposed to call it? Paya didn't know, but she took the letter with a little bow. As she reached for it, though, their hands brushed.  
Instantly, Paya was bright red. The Rito girl was fluffed up so big she looked more like a tiny ball of fluff.

"Th- th- thank you." Paya finally stuttered out. "And what was, was, what was your name?"

"Meezuli." She answered, still fluffed up. "I need to, um... Go. I have... Other deliveries! Yeah. I'll, uh, see you around?"

If possible, Paya blushed darker. "That would be- I'd- that's great, I'll uh... See you around."

Meezuli nodded, then turned and flew away... And Paya knew she was hopeless. Sure, sometimes people had made her blush and stutter, but none made her heart pound like that, making her knees weak.  
She was so occupied thinking about Meezuli that she walked straight past the inn, and managed to get lost even though the town was so small. It wasn't until she was actually at the inn, paying for a bed for the night, that she remembered the letter in her hand.

She really was hopeless.

***

"Hey, uh... I've got another delivery for you." Meezuli stuttered, holding out a bouquet of local wildflowers.

"Who are they from?"

She fluffed out bigger, her wings looking tense. "They're from- well I- it doesn't say!" 

Paya nodded, taking the flowers. "Well, if you ever find out who it is... Can you thank them for me?"

Meezuli nodded vigorously, eyes wide. "Yes! Yes of course! You're wel- I'll tell them!"

Paya smiled, still sure she was blushing. "Th- thank you."

She nodded one more time, before turning and walking away. "S- see ya!"

Paya waved back, then hid her face in her hands. The flowers were beautiful, but... Something in her didn't want flowers unless they were from Meezuli. Besides, she didn't have anywhere to put them...

That's not what Grandmother would say, Paya decided, going back into the inn and setting down the bouquet on her bed. Carefully, she undid her hair, and began to braid it. Zelda had taught her how to do a crown braid, like she normally wore, so she got working on it. Once that was finished, she started to very carefully weave the stems of the flowers into the braid. 

"Does this look right?" She asked Cecili, the innkeeper. 

Cecili only sighed. "I'd bet my tail that you two end up together. Come here, I'll fix them a little bit."

"What do you mean, e- end up together? I just think she's pretty... Nice! She's very nice." Paya stuttered. "And pretty."

"You're hopeless." She laughed, pushing the flowers just a little further in. "There you go, now go impress her."

"I'm not trying to-"

"Yes you are, now get out there."

Blushing, she left the inn to go up to the cooking pot.

***

"Hey, so, Meezuli... I was wondering if you could de-deliver something for me?" Paya asked, holding her hands behind her back. "But it's for, uh... It's for the person who gave me the flowers." 

The flowers were still in her hair, even though she had put them there yesterday. They looked nice enough to wear them today, too, and she didn't want to take them out.

"Okay! I can try to do that, I mean, I don't know who it is, but..." 

As Paya held out the bouquet of flowers she had picked that morning, she could already feel herself blushing. "S- so, you can deliver these to them?"

Meezuli nodded, fluffing up possibly more than she had the past two times as she accepted the flowers. "Well, I, I've got something to tell you about them..."

Immediately, her heart was pounding. "Really? What is it?"

"I- uh... I don't know! I forgot." She swallowed. "I guess I'll have to tell you when I remember, right?"

A little disappointed, Paya calmed back down. "Alright, thank you."

"Thank you!" Meezuli waved, starting to walk away. "Wait. Oops, sorry, that was awkward. You're welcome!"

***

It was three weeks later, with no news from Meezuli other than the occasional very short conversation. The flowers Paya had put in her hair were long wilted, and she knew the ones she had given Meezuli were, too.  
She hadn't really wanted to meet this other secret admirer; she just wanted the flowers to go to Meezuli. She was so beautiful, with her teal feathers and bright eyes, the little messenger uniform she wore, and how tightly she always did her braid...

It was with a heavy heart that Paya went to leave Rito Village, traveling back out into the wild. Every step hurt her heart, weighing her down. That night she lay under the sky, staring up at the stars. She wasn't really surprised when tears began to blur her vision.  
She missed Rito Village. She missed waking up to Cecili's cheerful singing in the morning, looking forward to the next time she would see Meezuli.

Meezuli.

The words Cecili had said, about them getting together. Mail had to be sent through a carrier, who Meezuli would know. So the flowers couldn't be from someone she didn't know, could they? Only if another messenger had brought them to Rito Village and given them to her, but they were local flowers, and Paya didn't know people from far away.

The flowers were from Meezuli.

In a moment Paya was back up on her feet, packing up her things into her pack. She didn't bother putting on her real clothes, just tugged on her boots and started to run. She was tired from traveling all day, but a new kind of energy surged through her. All she wanted to do was see Meezuli.

***

When Paya finally got to Rito village, the sun was starting to rise, illuminating her path across the winding bridges. They scared her, sure, but that wasn't important now.  
What was important was making it up into the village, and finding Meezuli.

There she was, stretching her wings on Revali's landing. This is where she always was in the mornings, preparing to deliver letters. She was just about to leave, but-

"Wait!" Paya yelled, panting as she ran up to the landing. "I have... a question... to ask you." 

"What is it?" Meezuli asked, fluffing up a little bit. "I thought you left yesterday."

"I did, but I... I- were you the one who got those flowers for me?" She blurted, blushing bright red.

Meezuli sputtered and stammered, then, finally, just nodded. 

Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Paya laughed. Tears were firming in the corners of her eyes.

"Oh no! Don't cry!"

"They're happy tears." She explained, wiping them away. "I- I wanted it to be you." 

Meezuli ruffled, staring down at the ground. "Well, I... I like you a lot."

"I like you, too."

"Wait, did you sleep at all last night?" Her eyes got wide. "If you left yesterday morning, than..."

Paya blushed, and shook her head. 

"Come on, you're getting some rest." Meezuli took Paya's hand and led her up to one of the little houses. "It's not a whole lot, but here, you can sleep in my hammock. Besides, you're already in your pajamas!"

She blushed even more, thinking about how she was in front of Meezuli in only her thin nightdress. "The- th- thank you."

With that, Paya leaned in and kissed Meezuli on the side of the beak. She fluffed up instantly, stuttering all the way out the door.

People would mention what a good mood Meezuli was that day, and Paya fell asleep still smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Tumblr is Supertinywords or Supertinydom, if you want to yell at me there.
> 
> Requests for f/f oneshots are open and encouraged!
> 
> Comments are love <3


	3. Zelda's Mom/Urbosa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of how Zelda, the newly crowned Queen of Hyrule and wife of King Rhoam, met and fell in love with Chief Urbosa of the Gerudo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was for Ash! I love you Ash <3

Visits to Gerudo Town were always exciting for Queen Zelda. The King, her husband, couldn't go because of the rule against voe, so here she was, standing outside the gates, sweating in all of her royal finery.

Urbosa knew her like no one else; if this were just for her, she wouldn't dress up so extravagantly, but they had a certain image to uphold. There was always that issue, making sure their interaction seemed like nothing more than two queens doing business with one another. Some things were better left hidden, and Zelda did not want to risk her husband finding out about their... Secret arrangement.

***

She could still remember so clearly what it was like when they first met. It was at the royal wedding, when she was being given away to a stranger she did not, nor even thought she could, love. Perhaps she did look unhappy, or some part of her cried out to Urbosa after the ceremony, but she came right over to where she was standing against the wall.

"So, how are you feeling in the middle of all of this?" She asked, tone gentle for such a strong voice.

Zelda had been taken aback by her looks, such that she could not speak for a moment or two. Her manner of dress was clearly Gerudo, with gold embellished shoes, and a skirt that seemed more metal than fabric. Her dark skin rippled with muscle, abs and arms on full display in her cropped shirt, inlaid with yet more gold. A sash covered her partly, but the material was so sheer that it did no such thing. An abundance of gold necklaces and bracelets adorned her, practically dripping jewels off her athletic frame. Falling over her shoulder, her thick red hair was pulled up into a braid.  
But her face was what really stunned her. There was no doubt that she was strong; but that face didn't look the least bit cruel. There was something sympathetic in her green eyes, the start of concern on her blue painted lips.

Unable to articulate how exactly she felt, Zelda shrugged.

"I know how you feel... Partially." The woman admitted, and Zelda wracked her brain to remember this beautiful stranger's name.

In truth, she had met too many people in the past few weeks to remember any names, really. There were a few, but only because they had done something extraordinary... Like accidentally setting the King's pants on fire. It was not that scientist's day, apparently.

But something told her that she would remember her name, if she had met her before.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners?" She smiled, and bowed in the Gerudo fashion: a dramatic sweep of one leg behind her, bending from the waist. "I am Urbosa of the Gerudo."

Zelda curtsied in return. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Urbosa."

"If I may just call you Zelda," Urbosa paused, letting out a little sigh. "I understand what it's like to become royalty, and feel completely lost while everyone celebrates."

"That really is how it feels." She admitted, fiddling with the lace edge of her wedding dress's sleeve. "I should be happy, by all standard of living. Somehow, I'm the Queen, and..."

Urbosa shook her head. "You can't just say that you should be happy. The world has many twists and turns, many different standards of success. Royalty is only one of those standards."

"I feel lost, in all this..." She sighed, tugging at the lace. "It's too much."

"What would you rather be doing?" 

"Running." Zelda blurted, then covered her mouth. "Not running away, per se..."

"I understand completely."

"Barefoot across a field." She added, gaining confidence. "I used to live further south in Central Hyrule, down near the Lake Kolomo Garrison. The fields there, running between the birch trees..."

That was where the King- Rhoam, she was supposed to call him now, first saw her. Wearing a simple white dress, running as fast as she could by the edge of the water. She was careful, though, always running just far away to avoid the hard stones near the waterfront. People used to laugh, saying Zelda was far too regal a name for someone like her, with mud speckles on her dress and a ruddy blush on her cheeks. She never minded; being wild was being free, when she could.  
But the King had liked it, had liked her name, and had talked to her father about marriage. Everything else was a blur of money and dress fittings and meeting royals, scientists, and nobles; its end finding her here, hiding against the wall at her own wedding.

"Well, I'm sorry that I can't let you run." Urbosa said with a gleam in her eye. "But if dancing would suffice as a distraction, I would be honored."

"I would dance with you, believe me, but..." She sighed, shifting how she stood. "These shoes have been digging into the soles of my feet all day, and I'm afraid I wouldn't be very nimble."

"Then take them off."

"What?" Zelda gasped, but then, the more she thought about it.. "My dress is so long, my bare feet would be covered."

"And the skirt is so full that no one could step on them." Urbosa added, a smile tugging at her lips.

Her heart melted looking at her, like it never had before. Forget dancing, if she needed her to be, Urbosa would be distraction enough. But Zelda leaned back against the wall a little further, taking advantage of a column hiding her partially from view. Carefully, she slipped off the uncomfortable shoes and held them behind her back.

"But where should I leave..." 

She frowned, then spotted a lush potted plant. Pretending to be appreciating the greenery, she slipped the shoes in and hid them among the leaves. Maybe she would come back for them later, but never again would she wear them.

"There." Zelda came back, feeling ten pounds lighter already. 

Without the added burden of those shoes, she swore she could fly.

"Well then, Zelda," Urbosa bowed again, holding out her hand. "May I have this dance?"

Smiling, she laid her hand in Urbosa's. What she wasn't expecting, though, was for her to kiss it. Immediately Zelda blushed, her heart turning to putty in her chest as they swept out to the dance floor.

This was her wedding; she shouldn't feel this way about someone else.

And yet... They danced like that all night, until the King wanted to retire to their room.

"Until we meet again." Urbosa finished, gently kissing her hand once more, then swept away.

Rhoam was pleased she had this befriended the Gerudo Chief, and accepted her excuse of being to tired of dancing to do anything that night. She went to sleep with the word 'Chief' on her tongue, thinking of how Urbosa never cared about those titles. She had asked to call her Zelda instead.

It was more genuine than everyone else, she thought, and she couldn't wait until they met again.

***

Things had run together after that, and it was too long before she was told that they needed a renewed treaty signed with the Gerudo. Since Hyrule now had a Queen, they had no excuse to set Hyrule Castle as the meeting place.

"I will go." Zelda offered, trying to conceal the pounding in her chest. "It's no trouble... And I've always wanted to travel."

Rhoam agreed.

So she went, accompanied by a slew of female knights, guards, and handmaidens. The trip was long, sure, but it was all worth it for two things: Urbosa, and Lake Kolomo. 

Finally, after all this time, she got to run barefoot among the birch trees once more, not caring about the dirt on her dress of the indignity of panting so loud. She wanted to share this with Urbosa, to run together, to be free of all those titles and parties and the difficulties of being a Queen... But she knew that she couldn't. Her duty was as the Queen of Hyrule; she couldn't run away.  
That slowed her down to a stop, staring out over the water. This was her life now, but she would enjoy these little breaks as much as she could. 

They left Lake Kolomo in the morning, heading down further west towards the Outskirt Stable. From there they could head south again, traveling along the main road to Gerudo Town. The time it took felt like both none at all and an eternity, with Zelda spending her time trying to distract herself from finally seeing the Gerudo Chief again. It was pure torture, laying in her tent at night, thinking of what she would say when they finally met.

"I loved you the moment I saw you." Perhaps she would say in a quiet voice, the first moment they could be alone.

Maybe she would kiss her hand, instead.

"You make me feel alive."

But when she got there, all of those plans went completely out the window. Urbosa kept a professional distance from her when they made pleasantries, but that night... 

Things blurred together, how this led to that which led to them kissing, Zelda's heart pounding, never wanting to stop. It was completely different from Rhoam; this was new and exciting. She had never wanted to kiss anyone, but now that was all she wanted to do.  
That night they slept in the same bed, and Zelda never wanted their time together to end.

***

Of course, it had to end when she went back up to Hyrule Castle, but here she was again, at the entrance to Gerudo Town, sweating in all of her finery. Well, not all of it. Outside the gates there was a very lucky potted plant that now held her shoes until she returned.

Taking a deep breath, she walked forward to meet her lover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayy! Tumblr is Supertinywords/Supertinydom
> 
> Requests are open! I need ideas.
> 
> Comments are love <3


	4. Zelpha - Soulmate AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In her head, Mipha sees the flowers that she'll give her soulmate one day.
> 
> Little does she know, Zelda sees flowers in her head, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soulmate AU's are the best, but remember that not everyone needs one! Aro pals, I love y'all.

When Mipha closed her eyes, flowers appeared in her head. They were odd ones, a type she had never seen before, but they were there all the same. None of her friends had flowers like that; she was the only one who saw anything close.   
When she was young, her father explained that meant that she had a soulmate, and when she met them, that was the kind of flowers she should bring to give to them.

It didn't make much sense, though. How would she know when someone was her soulmate? Would it be when she gave them the flowers, or would she have to give the flowers after they found out? What did that even mean?

So, for the most part, she stayed quiet about it. She didn't even know if her soulmate would have flowers appearing in their head, so asking might not even work...

It didn't bother her, though. Most people had no way of being sure who their soulmates were, or even if they had one. Some people would rather not have one, really. Some people had soulmates, but more like best friends. Personally, she didn't mind, but she thought she understood those points of view. It was good to have one, sure, but it wasn't everything.  
And so she waited; first to see the flowers in real life. The first time she saw them with eyes open was on her way to Hyrule Castle, after she had been selected to become one of Princess Zelda's four Champions.

She had met Zelda only briefly, and yet she had a sense they would become very good friends. The Princess was quiet, yes, but it was the same type of quiet as Link, she felt. The whole world was resting on her soft little shoulders, and that was too much pressure for someone their age to bear.  
At least, she figured that Zelda was close to her age. She appeared largely like Link along those terms, so she wouldn't be surprised. Of course, she was technically a lot older, but Zora aged slower in general. It wasn't really fair; Link had gotten tall a lot faster than she had... Though, she was quickly catching up to him.

Regardless, it was along the way that she spotted the flower. Mipha pointed it out to one of the Hylian guards with her, and he laughed a hearty laugh.

"That there's a Silent Princes. You don't see many of them around these days, do ya?" He sighed. "I remember a lot from being a kid, though, up near Mount Satori... The good old days."

Mipha smiled politely and steered a little further from him, leaving off the fact that the 'good old days' were likely the days of her youth as well, and that she was almost certainly older than him.  
She didn't need to cause trouble, after all. It was easiest just to travel quietly. They would reach the kingdom before long, after all, and there was no sense in making a big deal over one small misconception.

Mipha sighed, thinking more about the flower. Silent Princess... Now who did that remind her of?

***

Days spend living in the Hyrule Castle were largely long and dull, spent training as much as possible, and appreciating the architecture the rest. Zora's domain didn't have buildings built anything like the castle, which made it quite interesting. Despite the slightly crude design of using such large, heavy bricks, it managed to be quite cozy. Fires burned in every fireplace and sconce, making the surroundings almost uncomfortably warm for a Zora like herself, but it was almost like a hot spring. Plush carpets and rugs covered the stone floors, and tapestries hung on the walls. Besides, the views were breathtaking.

Wandering around like that was what lead her to the area outside of Princess Zelda's study, just leaning against the wall, staring out at the fields beyond. She didn't know it was the Princess's study right now, though. It was only a good place to look out over Hyrule.  
The door opened. "Oh, Hello, Mipha."

She turned to face the speaker, finding herself looking right at the princess. Her long blonde hair was pulled up in a braid around the crown of her head, but her rest was a bit messy. She was wearing a practical shirt, trousers, and a pair of sturdy boots.

"Hello, Zelda." She waved. "Are you off to somewhere?"

She shrugged. "Just the surrounding plains. If I can, I'm going to see if I can find a few flowers that I've been thinking about... For experimentation purposes."

"That sounds quite interesting."

"Maybe. It won't be if I have to drag along that-" Zelda paused, her face contorting in annoyance. "Appointed Knight."

She sounded like she wanted to say something a whole lot worse, but her face was actually quite cute when scrunched up like that. She could understand; Link did get a little annoying at times.

"Well, I am a Champion, aren't I?" Mipha pointed out. "Can your father be angry if I go along?"

"That's a wonderful idea! Let me just grab a few things, then we can head out."

'Grab a few things' ended up meaning packing a satchel with anything they might need, but Mipha didn't mind. Watching Zelda work wasn't boring in the least bit, seeing how her brows furrowed when she wrote something down, or the little sigh of satisfaction when something fit into a pocket perfectly... Mipha found herself blushing, just a little bit, just from watching her pack.  
She was hopeless.

"Alright then! We're good to go." Zelda declared, swinging the satchel over her body. "But, just in case... We should take the back entrance. Follow me."

So she did, through winding coridors and confusing passageways, until they made it to a large ironclad door. It looked like it would be locked, but Zelda pushed it open with a little huff of exertion, and they were outside.

After that, it took a little while to make it out to the field, but the walk wasn't hard in the slightest. Their largest obstacle were gentle hills... And Mipha tripping over her own feet because she was watching Zelda instead of where she was going. Thankfully she didn't fall all the way down... And Zelda didn't notice.

"There we are! This looks like as good a spot as any." Zelda sat down and pulled a few papers from her bag. "Now, I'm looking for a few different things..." She showed her the different papers, each with a different flower drawn on it in an expert hand. "So if you see any of these, let me know. Also, if you see a Silent Princess be very careful, but see if you can bring it to me with the root system intact. If you don't think that you can, can you come get me?"

Mipha nodded. "Of course, Princess."

She blushed, bright pink across her round cheeks. "We've been trying to get them to grow in captivity, but... they seem to be resisting all of my best efforts."  
"Perhaps you should try your worst."

Zelda laughed at that, shaking her head. "Alright now, I'll go this way, you go that way? I will shout if I need you."

She nodded again, looked at the papers, and set off. The flowers were fairly easy to locate, growing in large, creeping bunches along the ground. Mipha made mental notes of where they were, trying her best to remember where each of them were... And the differences between some of them. To help her cause, she gently picked one from each cluster, tucking them into her belt.

But what was that? Just over the ridge, growing in a bunch under a large tree, were a group of much larger flowers. Mipha's eyes lit up at the sight of them, knowing they would make Zelda happy.  
Careful not to damage the roots, Mipha began to dig around the bunch of Silent Princesses. It was difficult, and the effort left her muddy and covered in dirt, but it was worth it. Gently lifting her prize, Mipha made her way back to where Zelda had been last.  
She was back where they had stopped at first, laying a few clumps of flowers down on their respective papers. It appeared that she found all of the other varieties just fine.

"I found these over by that tree, there." Mipha explained, and as Zelda looked up...

It was as if her whole face became a beaming light of happiness. Her eyes shone. Her smile was like the sunshine.

"These are amazing! Thank you, Mipha. Thank you." Zelda took the cluster from her, gently, and something clicked in her mind.

She just... She just gave Princess Zelda a group of Silent Princesses, the flowers she saw in her head. That was... She was her soulmate? Mipha could cry tears of joy. It all made sense, with how Zelda made her feel...

Zelda frowned. "I'm still holding a group of daisies in my left hand, could you grab them from me?"

Mipha did as she asked, taking the little bouquet of flowers.

"Thank you."

Then they met eyes. Zelda blushed bright red, and Mipha was sure she did too. Zelda barely avoided dropping the soil with the Silent Princesses, lowering them to the ground.

"I'm sorry," She took a deep breath. "You see, I have this thing... I've had it since I was a child, you see, and I know it sounds crazy, but..."

Mipha's head was spinning. "You see flowers too?"

"You see them?!" Zelda laughed. "Well, I suppose you would see Silent Princesses, not daisies."

She nodded.

"That's just... We're soulmates!"

"That is a good thing... Right?"

Zelda nodded. "When I first met you, I... I could barely speak, because you were so beautiful."

Her heart felt like it was soaring.

"Here, help me get this packaged so it doesn't fall part... This is amazing."

Mipha helped her with the Silent Princesses, and carried them back to the castle for her. All along the way they talked, about anything and everything and nothing all at the same time. 

And every time she blinked, the flowers behind her eyes made her smile wider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think you know the drill, but my tumblr is Supertinywords or Supertinydom!
> 
> Requests, please, if you even have a tiny prompt it will be great for me
> 
> Comments are love!


	5. Zelpha - Armor/Hiding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda visits Zora's Domain to ask if Mipha can be one of Hryule's Champions. But there's Mipha, beautiful and perfect, and Zelda isn't sure whether she's jealous, sympathetic, or falling in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ash gave me this prompt! Thank you, Ash <3

Zelda had always wondered about Mipha. She was always so quiet, so contained, so polite whenever she opened her mouth. It was pretty, yes, but Zelda mostly wondered if she was actually like her on the inside.  
When she went to ask if Mipha could become one of Hyrule's Champions, King Dorephan was elated. His daughter was the most skilled fighter they had, a fearsome knight in her own right, but when he bragged about her abilities she only blushed, keeping silent. Though Zelda doubted her father ever bragged about her, he certainly didn't in her presence, she guessed that she would have to react similiarly.

Princesses are not allowed to be proud, after all. They must be quiet and perfect, personalities hidden away under layers and layers of carefully arranged appearance.

And Mipha did look perfect. She was in full ceremonial armor, with plating over her head, her chest, her arms and legs, pauldrons on her shoulders and a trident in her hand. Despite the amount of metal, to Zelda, the armor barely looked functional. There were still so many areas of skin left uncovered that it was worrying, but she said nothing. There were parts of the armor inlaid with jewels, too; luminous stone that was beginning to glow in the dimming evening light.  
Was it really armor, or was it another item to make her look beautiful and perfect? What was hiding underneath those layers?

Zelda shook her head, and draped the champions fabric over her as a type of sash. It was intoxicating, being this close to her. Even if it was all for show, Mipha was beautiful and radiant and Zelda's heart was pounding. 

"Thank you." Mipha whispered in such a soft voice she barely heard it, a little smile on her lips. "I will pin it with this, don't worry about tying it off."

Zelda nodded, and took a step back. In Mipha's hands was a huge pin, if it could be called that. The enormous sapphire, inlaid into a large metal brooch, was basically the same size as her shoulder.

Just another picture of beauty.

The ceremony was over before too much longer, and Zelda found herself out late, still. She had convinced Link to go to sleep, pretending to get ready for bed herself, before sneaking out to look at the sea. It was dark, churning below in subtle waves, speeding far beneath the Zora's Domain.

"Trouble sleeping?" A voice asked from behind her, joining her at the rail.

It was Mipha, still in all of that armor, but somehow looking softer than before.

Zelda shook her head. "Just thinking."

"Do you mind if I keep you company?"

"No, not at all." She was suddenly very aware of how much she was blushing, how her whole body felt like it was on fire.

In a good way, though. Maybe the blue light of the luminous stones would cover up the redness of her cheeks? Zelda seriously doubted it.

Mipha sighed. "It's hard to imagine the journey we're facing. Going out there, having to fight an unimaginable evil... I know I'm not supposed to be, but I'm scared too."

"How did you know I'm scared?"

She shrugged. "We all are, I think. Everyone in Hyrule is a little scared, and you have the most pressure on you of all of us. My only duty is to command the Divine Beast, Vah Ruta. Already, I almost feel a connection to her through my ancestor. But you..."

Zelda swallowed. "I know."

"It's a hard task, yes, but I believe in you." Mipha smiled. "You'll be able to do it, when the time is right."

"Thank you, Mipha."

"You don't need to thank me." She said quickly. "I just hoped... Well, that we could be friends."  
Friends. Why did that word sting like that? It almost hurt to think about. Friends.

"Of course." Zelda said, trying to push those thoughts back. "We need all of the friends we can get, I think."

Mipha laughed. "Princesses, right? Everyone looks up to us, and no one really feels like a friend?"

"That's too accurate to be funny."

"I understand what you're feeling; I've been there." She sighed again, staring down at the water. "It does get better, though. You find people like yourself..."

But are you like me? Zelda wanted to ask, wanted to scream. Do I make your heart pound like you make mine?

"...and suddenly, it's not all that bad."

Zelda nodded. "That sounds... Good."

"You're beautiful, you know."

Instantly, she was blushing like a tomato. "I'm not- you know I- it's not-"  
Mipha laughed. "You are. You can deny it all you like, but I don't want you to believe anything but the truth."

"Are you like me?" Zelda blurted, then covered her mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing!" She added quickly. "I didn't mean... It's nothing."

"Do you mean..." Mipha frowned, brow furrowing. "Are you asking if I like girls?"  
Zelda turned blood red, turning her face down and away. The luminous stone wouldn't do her this much good, that was for certain. The dark, churning water seemed more inviting than ever before. Though, if she jumped over, she had no doubt Mipha would save her. Damn, perfect princesses, always saving people.

"Yes, I do." She admitted. "It's not as big of a deal among the Zora, but Link has told me much about how that affects Hylian culture."

"In which case... Yes, that is what I meant."

"I like you too." Mipha stated.

If possible, Zelda blushed harder. "I never said-"  
"I know, I guessed." Mipha blushed and looked away. "If I'm wrong-"

"No, you're... You... aren't wrong."

She smiled. "Well, I... That's wonderful."

Zelda took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. This was too much strain on her little heart. "Well..."

The silence was getting awkward.

"I don't know what to say either."

They both laughed, awkwardly, shaking their heads.  
"So..." Zelda started. "How is it being a princess here?"

Mipha shrugged. "What do you mean?"

"Just... I want to know more about you."

"Alright, that's fair." She frowned, staring up at the sky. "It's a lot of responsibility, really. There are a lot of duties: meetings, dealing with monster infestations, things like that. Learning to be a ruler."

Zelda sighed. "If only."

"What's it like for you, then?"

"Prayer, near constantly." She blurted. "I have to awaken my sealing power, so that's the priority. When I'm not doing that there are other trainings: schooling, simple self-defense combat, and sitting in on meetings. When I'm not doing that, I... Never mind."

"What is it?"

"I like to say that I'm a scientist." Zelda admitted. "My father... Doesn't approve of it. But I'm doing good things. It's productive."

Mipha frowned. "Can I say something about you?"

"Go ahead."

"It might come across as, well..." She turned her head away. "I make a lot of assumptions about people. I try not too, it's a bad habit, but I noticed something."

"I'm serious, I don't mind."

"Even if it could be a little rude?" Mipha asked, meeting her eyes.

Zelda only nodded.

She took a deep breath. "Are you that afraid of failing?"

Dead silence. 

Zelda swallowed, looking away. "You know, I... Yes. All of Hurule is resting on me, relying on me."

Mipha took a deep breath. "I don't think I can understand, but... I'm here for you. If you want to talk about it, that may help. I may be the one wearing physical armor, but I think you're trying to hide away on your own, internal, armor."

"I wondered if you did that, too." She admitted. "I wondered if life for you here was the same as my life there, and... I'll admit, I'm jealous."

"I'm sorry that things are like that for you. You don't deserve it."

"We don't get what we deserve." Zelda pointed out. "But all I do, every day, is hide behind my scientific findings, as if that will save- as if that could save- I have the country on my shoulders, relying on me."

Mipha sighed, breathing softly and evenly as she put an arm around Zelda. She wasn't sure when she had started to cry, but tears were streaming down her face. Wiping them away, she tried to keep Mipha from seeing them, but it was no use."

"I know you'll succeed." She whispered, gently rubbing her shoulder. "Do you think you'll be able to sleep tonight?"

"I don't know." Zelda admitted. "I'm tired, but I'm too anxious to fall asleep."

Mipha nodded. "Would you like to come to my room?"

She blushed, but nodded.

Walking together, side by side, they made it to Mipha's room. It was still heavy, weighing on her mind, but Zelda thought that she was right. Letting it out a little did help. And as Mipha stripped off her external armor, Zelda tried to remove her own internally.  
She would be open, now, at least with Mipha. No more hiding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblers are Supertinywords/Supertinydom!
> 
> Please give me a prompt, I'm dying. I'll do any f/f botw ship, other that pedophilia/incest/etc.
> 
> Comments are love!


	6. Payazel - Exploring Ruins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paya and Zelda have been traveling around Hyrule together, taking notes on the ancient ruins, exploring them thoroughly, and trying to clear the rubble. Next stop: the Temple of Time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, Swift, for the idea! I love you <3

"Doesn't something about camping in the shrine of resurrection feel a little... Wrong to you?" Paya asked for what she was sure was the third time, but she had yet to get a solid answer.

Zelda shrugged. "Link camped there for a hundred years, so I don't think so."

"Is that an answer?"

"I don't think it's wrong." She clarified. "Besides, it's morning now, and we don't plan on staying in there again."

"True... And it was fairly safe from outside predators..."

"Exactly." Zelda poked at one of the apples they had roasting over the campfire, aka, breakfast. "The shrine of resurrection is as good a place as any to spend the night... Without a bed."

Paya nodded. "I guess... But it is close to to Temple of Time, so I'll agree."

She smiled, blindingly bright, melting Paya's heart. They had been traveling all around Hyrule for a while now, inspecting the ruins by day, sleeping all snuggled together at night. She still couldn't believe that she was dating her, this princess... But it was true. No matter how many times Paya pinched herself to wake up, she was still here, and Zelda was still smiling at her.

"Is the- are those- is everything-" She took a deep breath. "Are those apples ready?"

"Almost, just a couple more minutes." Zelda rifled through her bag, eventually finding a stick of goat butter, and their small jar of honey. "We'll be ready to head down there in no time."

Paya nodded. "That's good. We'll need all the daylight we can get."

"The temple is quite large, it will probably take more than one day, especially to take down any carvings for your grandmother..."

"Are you certain that she'll be able to translate them when we get back? The old Sheikah language hasn't been used in..."

"I'm fairly sure." Zelda nodded, poking the apples once more. "She tod me that she knew how to translate it, once... There, the apples are done."

Carefully, she pulled them out using two sticks. She smeared some apple butter and dripped some honey on top, then let it sit for a moment. With the same care as before, she did the same with the second.  
"By the time the butter is fully melted they will be cool enough to eat." She explained, impatiently poking yet again. "They will be quite messy, but also extremely delicious. That courser beehive you found yesterday was quite the prize."

Paya blushed. "It's really- not that- th- thank you."  
Zelda smiled again, and tentatively reached for an apple. Wincing, she pulled her hand away. "It's still too hot."

"The butter isn't even melted yet! You should be more careful with yourself."

"Probably..." She glanced away, down the path, over at the ruins by the temple. "This will be an interesting trip, that's for certain."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you when we get down there." 

Zelda waited another moment, then reached for an apple. This time she didn't recoil.

"They're cool enough to hold, at least." She stated, then took a small bite. "Still quite hot on the mouth, though."

Paya stared down at the steaming butter. "I think I'll wait a little longer... I keep telling you, be careful."

Zelda blushed, mouth full of apple. "I know..."

Waiting for the apple to cool a little more, she couldn't help but stare up at the sunrise. The whole sky seemed impossibly peachy pink, like Zelda's blushing cheeks, or the same golden as her hair... Paya shook her head. Her Grandmother would tell her the colors weren't actually exactly the same, she was just in love. That, though, made her blush bright red.

"I believe that the apple is cool enough, now." Zelda said, shaking her out of her thoughts. "And we can eat them as we walk, once I put this fire out."

Paya grabbed her apple, eating it as well as she could, trying to keep the sticky butter and honey from getting all over her hands. That, however, wasn't much of a success. By the end, she was absolutely covered in it, all over her hands, her mouth, and dripping down her arms.  
Zelda had finished her's quickly, and was now putting out the fire as she ate. Soon they were both finished.

"Umm, Zel?"

"My hands are sticky too." She anticipated the question. "There's a little pond down there, we can wash off really quickly."

So they did, at the ends of Zelda's hair dragged in the water just a little bit... Paya thought it was adorable. Those little ends... It was so cute.  
But now they were headed up to the temple of time, prepared to search it for any type of knowledge they could find. Sure, it could just be the same carvings about the goddess, but there was something special about the location...

"This was one of the places I travelled to more regularly, to pray." Zelda explained, brushing her bangs out of her face. "I started going here when I was young, returning every year for the festival of time."

"Festival of time?"  
"It's an ancient holiday, three days long, supposedly celebrating the three days it took the hero of time to save a long gone area from certain destruction." Zelda explained. "Most of our holidays, you'll notice, are based on the acts of the hero."  
"That's quite an odd holiday, though."

"It is." She agreed, hefting herself over one of the crumbled stone walls. "It never felt like much of a holiday, since I spent the whole time praying the same prayer... Oh Goddess who saved us when time was near, may you hear my humble petition... You understand."

Paya nodded. "I can see how that would be quite tedious, year after year."

"Yes... This section is very well preserved, come look."

Hopping over the wall, she joined Zelda on the other side. "It really is."

"Here's some paper, you start from the other side and we'll copy it down for your Grandmother."

They copied it down as well as they could, using the ink to indicate when a portion had been badly damaged. It was difficult work, sometimes, but Paya loved it. Tracing her brushstrokes around the papers, copying down the carvings, it was almost hypnotic. So much so, in fact, that the only thing that brought Paya out of her work was her stomach rumbling loudly.  
Instantly, she blushed red as a tomato. Zelda laughed.

"Alright, we should eat something." She declared, reaching into her bag. "Here."

Paya took the little loaf on bread she had offered. "Thank you."

Zelda nodded, and pulled one out for herself. Still copying down the runes, she began to eat.  
Shrugging, Paya followed suit. It would be a long day, but a nice one, since...

The sunlight was backlighting Zelda, making all her edges glow golden. She looked perfect, truly like the goddess with her long hair and the firm set of her jaw. There was a little smudge of dirt on her cheek that only made her look more perfect.  
Paya had to look away to focus, so that she could get any work done at all. The Princess- her girlfriend, was jut too beautiful to look at for her to be able to focus.  
Slowly, copying down what they could, the two of them moved their way through the ruins, all the way to the temple itself.

The first word in Paya's head was 'awe.' Airy and high, the crumbling ceiling showed a clear picture of grandeur in the temple's better days. Though Zelda would likely consider it small, this was the largest building Paya had ever been in. Windows along the sides mirrored the same arched shape, letting in pillars of sunlight that danced across the ruined floor. Rubble covered the whole area, peeling off from the walls, fallen from the ceiling, or brought in by monsters. Still, the temple managed to be beautiful, as if nature was slowly reclaiming it. Vines and moss had begun to grow over the statue of the goddess herself, where Zelda had prayed so long ago.

Slowly, over the course of the rest of the afternoon, they cleared out the rubble. Somehow Zelda managed to be even more beautiful when she was carrying large piles of wood and shingles, which wasn't fair as far as Paya was concerned. It was hard to think about the work when she was right there.

But before long the stripes of sunlight had dimmed, and it was time for dinner. Paya had roasted some skewers of meat and mushrooms for them, since Zelda was engulfed in her work. She didn't mind one bit; the door of the temple allowed her to look in, watching her in action... Which also allowed her to almost burn the skewers.

But they were edible, and they both tore in with enthusiasm. After dinner, though...

"Quick, I have somewhere to show you." Zelda grabbed her by the arm, dragging her around the left side of the temple. "Here it is. I'll go first, but we're climbing all the way up. Is that alright?"

Paya nodded. Sure, she was afraid of heights, but Zelda said she had somewhere to show her...  
Palms sweating, heart pounding, she began the climb. Even just a few feet off the ground she started panicking, but there were Zelda's boots right above her... Steeling her nerves, Paya kept on. She told herself to focus up, not down. Looking down below was the enemy here.  
Besides, the ladder was well attached to the side of the building, despite the decay. It must have been added later.

When they reached the top, however, the damage to the roof became obvious. A huge chunk was missing out of the side, showing the interior of the temple they had just been in.

"Alright, we're going to travel along the middle, since it has the most support." Zelda explained. "Here, I'll hold your hand."

"I'm scared." Paya whispered.

"It's okay, I've got you."

Holding hands, inching slowly forward, they made it across. At the front of the building was a small raised area, more solid looking that anything else. Paya kept her eyes anchored to it, as if it was an island in the midst of the sea.  
...of course, she'd never been to sea. That was just another fear of hers she had a feeling Zelda would cure her of with her adventurous spirit.

"Here." Zelda had climbed on first, and now helped pull Paya up onto the little tower. "Now look."

The sunset was the most spectacular thing she'd ever seen, with oranges and purples and almost turquoise blues on the edges... Fluffy clouds carried the color farther across the sky, stretching all the way out over the horizon.

"It... It's beautiful."

Zelda smiled,turned, as pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Yes, yes you are."

Paya didn't think she stopped blushing until they woke up together the next morning, when she started blushing all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think you know this already, but just in case <3
> 
> My tumblrs are Superyinydom and Supertinywords!
> 
> Thank you for the couple of requests I've gotten! I'm filled through day 8, but there's still 20 more days, so I am open!
> 
> Comments are love <3


	7. Zelpha - No one Dies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Calamity strikes, but this time they succeed. They win. And Mipha and Zelda are finally reunited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested by Shneurkle! Thank you! <3

Zelda stood outside the sanctum, totally still, counting her breaths.

Inhale.

Sword clashed against the hideous orange energy shield surrounding that, that thing. Everything they were preparing for, everything they were getting ready to face, staring right at her.  
Calamity Ganon, in the flesh.

Exhale.

Link's blow finally broke through, causing some damage to the beast. He had to back away quickly, though, to avoid being struck by another arm. Their combat was like an intricate dance, and both parties knew their parts well.

Take another breath in.

The fight continues, and Zelda wants to tear her eyes away, she wants to stop watching, but her eyes are glued to the combat. Every sword slash, every hit that Link takes, is torture.

And still the Divine Beasts have not fired. The tracking beams aren't even up yet.   
What had gone wrong? Why weren't they there? Sure, Urbosa lived very far away, but they had practiced this. It didn't take any of them this long to get back, let alone all of them.   
Mipha was closest of all of them, so where was she?

Link shouted, stabbing his sword into one of the things hideous legs, then jumping back.

Slowly, she let go of the breath she was holding. Still, the sound was too loud in her ears.

Where were the champions? Where was Mipha?

But Link landed a final blow on Ganon, and she felt a sudden surge of power. It didn't matter where they were, the time to act was now.

She couldn't think about Mipha right now, but for some reason... It almost helped. The image of those amber eyes, her soft smile... Zelda screamed, and light poured forward from her hand.  
But Calamity Ganon was putting out the same amount of energy she was.

Everything went white.

Inhale.

Zelda opened her eyes, and the land unfolded in front of her. Hyrule Field was empty, save for three figures. Link, still so small even on horseback, bravely brandished his sword at the enormous beast in front of him. Calamity Ganon incarnate hadn't seemed right in that spidery form, but now...

It took the image of an enormous boar, swirling with the same malice, the same evil as before. Tufts of it rolled off of its mane, poisoning the air. Huge tusks protruded from its hungry mouth, eyes glowing with hatred, burning for death.

All this time, this was what they were preparing for. This was it.

Where were the Champions?

Where was Mipha?

Exhale. 

Zelda managed to summon a bow of light, so that Link could fire upon the beasts weak spots. Unfortunately, they seemed to be very few. He would locate one, attempt to shoot it, and fall back to the ground again. It was hopeless, helpless... By the time a weakness was located, it was already closed. The beast, this Ganon, was just too strong.

Zelda began to cry, her jaw quivering as she sucked in another breath. What if they failed? What if the champions already had? What if they were gone?

And just like that, a red beam of light focused on one of Calamity Ganon's weak spots and fired, causing massive damage to the beast. The beam came from the northeast, from Daruk.

At least one was alive.

Just like that, another. Revali's beam from the northwest connected with a weak spot on the belly of the creature, and he fired without hesitation. This ripped a larger hole, taking more time for Ganon to refill.

That was two.

Remember to breathe. Exhale.

A glimmer of hope burst in her soul: Mipha could still be okay.

It was a couple more minutes of combat before Urbosa's beam struck from the southwest, striking so fast it was barely seen. The after effects were, though: the beast roared, tipping its head back for Link to shoot its neck. Unfortunately, that was far from fatal.

Three champions, including Urbosa, who was like a mother to her. Zelda could cry tears of joy.

Inhale.

But what about Mipha?

That thought hit her like a punch to the gut, despite the hope from before. Where was Mipha? Was she okay? Was she dead? Was she-

There were two more weak points on Ganon left, now. Zelda was ready to seal it away for good.

Exhale. 

Link jumped up, off his horse, and shot one of the two. But, as he was falling back down, Zelda felt a smile break out on her face. Little more than a flash of red light, Mipha had fired, taking out the last weakness.

They were all here. All alive. 

Inhale.

Once more, jumping up off his horse, Link fired at the beasts head. Squeezing her eyes shit, Zelda began to pray.

Exhale.

And soon, Ganon was no more.

***

There wasn't time to lie here.

Zelda had that thought as if underwater, barely touching her consciousness. She had to get somewhere... Where? It was all over, but what was over? Things all just felt like some kind of odd dream, the sunlight warm against her face...  
But she wasn't lying on a bed; this was grass beneath her. She was lying in the middle of a field, the sky was passing over her.

Ganon was dead.

Immediately, Zelda starting pushing herself up, blinking the sleep out of her bleary eyes. She had fallen after sealing the beast away, exhausted by the effort. First, she needed to find Link.

"Link!" She called out, pulling herself to her feet. "Link!"

He was over by a tree, leaning against the trunk. On shaky legs, she made her way over.

"Are you alright?"

He nodded, then raised his hands to sign. "I'm okay. Do you know if the champions..."

Zelda shook her head. "No, I don't... Wait. What's that, over there?"

In the distance, coming across the field, was a bright figure, glinting in the sun. As they got closer there was red, and blue, and-

"Mipha!" Zelda called out, running as fast as she could to meet her.

Adrenaline was the only thing keeping her going, a sheen burst of strength. The wind whipped her dress around her legs, threatening to trip her.

Mipha was running too, getting close, and as she came into view Zelda could tell how hurt she was. Blood was dried to different parts of her body, clearly her own. The Champion's sash across her body was torn into ribbons. Part of the head fin on her right side was torn off completely.

"Mipha! Oh, you're alive." Zelda got close enough to wrap her arms around her, hugging her close to her chest. "You didn't shoot first, according to the plan, and I thought-"

"Shh," Mipha shushed her, gently wiping the tears from her face. "Ganon did his best to get rid of us, but it would not be that easy."

"What happened?"

"A creature came from inside the Divine Beast." She explained, running a tender hand through Zelda's dirty hair. "I had to dispose of it before I could fire. It was difficult, but... All I could think of was you. How you needed me."

Zelda's body was wracked by a sob. Mipha had thought of her. How she needed her. She needed her.

"I love you, Mipha." She choked out. "I've always loved you, this whole time, I-"

"Shh," Mipha smiled, gently holding her face in her hand. "I love you too." 

They kissed softly, more their lips touching than anything else, both smiling too wide to really kiss for real.

"I love you too."

And as they collapsed there, together, on the battlefield, they knew it was true. There would be more work to do later, but for now? They were safe. They were together.

It would all be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yell at me on tumblr at Supertinydom/Supertinywords!
> 
> Requests are highly encouraged
> 
> Comments are love <3


	8. Ivee/Linkle - Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linkle tries her best to ask Ivee out, and while things don't exactly go as planned, they end up down by the beach together anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for XmarkZX! Thanks for the request

It wasn't very often that Linkle could get away from all the commotion of her life, but when she could, she always knew where she was going. 

There was more than one reason she settled in Hateno, after all.

Sure, the house was, relatively, cheap and available. Bolson was easy to negotiate with, and ready to help out with anything she needed in realms of furnishing, but if it wasn't for one special person...

Ivee was so bright, so smiling, that when Linkle first visited Hateno she was smitten. She had probably asked too many questions of her little brother Azu, and her father, Pruce... But all she wanted to do was know more about this girl.   
The logical response to that would be to talk to her, but she was always so busy outside the East Wind...

So she resorted to asking creepy questions, trying to find out what her favorite foods were. The best way to someone's heart was food, right? Someone has told her that along the way, but she couldn't remember who... Wait. Was it a Yiga? Never mind. Focus. Ivee.

Even jut thinking her got Linkle blushing, so how was she supposed to take to her? She was hopeless.

But at least Azu told her that she liked food, in exchange for information about the Hateno Tech lab. He told her that he would bring her a book that had Ivee's favorite recipes in it.

And so, she waited, lying awake in her house, thinking about Ivee. What did she like to do, she wondered? Did she cook herself? Azu seemed to think so, but he seemed pretty sketchy around details. If Linkle had to guess, she would assume he stayed there most of the day while Ivee was doing other things.

Would she like to go on a hike? No, she spent all day on her feet, that wouldn't be nice. What about the beach?

Linkle smiled. That was a good plan: find out what her favorite food was, then ask her if she'd like to go down to the beach.

Her heart pounded at the very idea, keeping her from sleep.

Tomorrow, though. Tomorrow.

***

The book, as it turned out, was Ivee's diary.

"But she writes down all her recipes in there, don't worry." Azu grinned, shoving the diary into her hands. "Now, I've gotta go. Bye!"

Linkle blushed, staring down at the leather binding. Could she read this? What if Ivee saw her with it? Silently, she slipped it into her bag, and made her way back to her house. She would need to use the cook pot there, anyway.  
Still, she felt extraordinarily guilty as she stole away to read the secret recipes.

***

Reading through the pages showed so much personality from Ivee that it had Linkle smiling. Each recipe was so approximate, it was just like she herself cooked. There were three, no four, recipes. Mushroom or salmon risotto, poultry pilaf, and egg pudding.

But she mentioned the scarcity of cane sugar... Linkle rummaged through her bag, searching to find some. Finally, near the bottom, were a few stalks. She would have to restock next time she was in Gerudo Town, but for now, this was enough. Quickly, she got to making those two egg puddings, careful not to get any mess on the book itself. 

Now, to go ask Ivee...

***

When Linkle got to the East Wind, Ivee looked annoyed at best. Her thick brows were furrowed over her dark brown eyes, glaring up in the direction of the Hateno Tech lab. However, when she saw Linkle, she immediately smiled and waved.

"Hey, come on over! You need anything for your adventures?"

Linkle shook her head, but still came over. Once in a while, though, Ivee still glanced up...

"What's wrong?" She signed.

Ivee looked taken aback. "What do you mean? Everything's good with me... What about you?"

"I mean... Why do you keep glancing up there?"

Perfect smile fading, Ivee shook her head. "It's my little brother. I think he took my journal again."

Linkle blushed. "Actually..."

"What? Do you know about it?" She immediately perked up. "I know you've done some nice things around town, but I don't want to be a bother..."

Sucking I'm a deep breath, she pulled the diary out of her bag. "I asked Azu if he could tell me what your favorite food was, and he stole the diary for me. I'm sorry about that."

Ivee took the diary gingerly, and clutched it to her chest. "Wait. But why did you want to know my favorite food?"

Linkle blushed again, deeper this time. "I was going to ask... If you maybe... Wanted to go on a date with me?"

"What?!" She almost dropped her diary, dark brown eyes wide as saucers, mouth hanging open.

"Only if you want to, I mean-"

"Would I!?" Ivee grinned, squeezing the diary tighter. "I would love to go on a date with you, Linkle."

She blushed. "I was thinking about going down to the beach, maybe once you're off work?"

"That sounds amazing!" She was smiling from ear to ear, eyes sparkling. "The sunset is the best from down there, have you seen it?"

Linkle thought about it, for a moment, then shook her head. She had never actually watched the sunset from down on Hateno beach.

"Then it's settled. I'll be free around six, if I can convince my dad." Ivee explained, glancing at the door of the East Wind. "But, in the meantime... Can I ask a favor of you?"

She nodded.

"Can you put this back in my room? I live in the top floor of the store, so you should have no trouble finding it." Just as carefully as before, Ivee held out the diary. "It goes on my bed stand, you'll know it by the glass of flowers."

"Alright. See you tonight?" 

"See you!"

And as Linkle went into the store and up the stairs, her heart soared. Sure, it wasn't exactly how she planned it, but it was amazing nonetheless.

***

"The sunset really is beautiful, here." Linkle signed, but she was mostly looking over at Ivee.

Her short brown hair curled up at the edges, around her daintily pointed ears and swooping down to her brows. Her eyes were as big and as brown as a deer's, bright and joyful. Her nose was just a little button, by it seemed so perfect on her face. Her lips were full and curved into a natural smile, more her resting face than anything faked for the store.

"Thank you, Linkle." Ivee leaned her head onto her shoulder, her eyes fluttering shut. "You know, every time you come back through Hateno, I... I always want you to stay. Even though you have a house here it feels like you're gone so much..."

Linkle tried to convey a message that she was sorry, but the only think she could do was wrap her arm around Ivee's shoulders. 

"But when you're here, it's good." She smiled a little wider, a little warmer. "I always want to make you desert... Like a pie, sometime. But to do that I'd have to learn how to make one, of course, and I doubt my mother would be very interested in teaching me."

Linkle laid her head on Ivee's and tried to remember that. She wanted to teach her how to make pie, to spend time together... It didn't really matter what they were doing, as long as she had Ivee with her.

"But next time you're about to leave..." Ivee yawned, but blinked open her eyes, looking up at Linkle. "Let me know first, okay? That way I can make you some lunch to take with you. I know how to do that, at least."

Linkle smiled. "I can teach you how to make pie, too."

"You can?" Her face lit up. "I saw you cooking, once in a while, but it's usually simpler things, so I didn't know..."

"I only cook simpler things because I'm lazy."

Ivee laughed. "Honestly? Me too. Making risotto is a lot of work."

"It really is, all that stirring..."

She nodded. "But it's one of my favorites, so I always make it anyway."

Linkle sat straight up. "Which reminds me..."

She dug around in her bag, finally finding the dishes she was looking for. The two plates with their egg puddings, all sweet and creamy. They turned out perfect, by her standards.

Ivee gasped. "Did you really-"

Linkle nodded.

She took the plate gratefully, smiling so wide, then-

She pressed a kiss to Linkle's cheek. "Thank you so, so much, for all of this."

And as they ate, and watched the sunset, Linkle knew that she would end up back in Hateno sooner than she had planned before. She didn't want to spend a moment away from Ivee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblrs   
> • Supertinydom  
> • Supertinywords
> 
> Requests are open! I don't have one for tomorrow.
> 
> Comments are love <3


	9. Zelda/Riju - First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Zelda and Riju first met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: they're the same age in this.

Of all the places Zelda expected Link would tell her she 'had to go,' Gerudo Town wasn't one of them, mainly because of the rule against voe. However, she supposed that hadn't stopped any of them before the calamity, so she guessed that she couldn't really be surprised. This location was different from the others, however, since Link hadn't come with her.

It had been months traveling, living, and working together, after all. They both deserved a little time to themselves. She didn't know where Link had gone, but the break from each other was a good excuse to visit the one place Link really wasn't supposed to follow.

But now, standing outside the city gates, leaning against the wall, she was nervous. Before the calamity she had only been here so many times, but it was still Urbosa's old home. It may be hard to separate the city from her memory, even if she was trying her best to just enjoy herself.  
Taking a deep breath, Zelda pushed herself away from the wall. It made no sense to stand just outside, boiling herself in the sun. Whether she was miserable the whole time or not, she didn't know, but she would have to go in eventually.

The two guards on duty, two women who appeared to be twins, nodded at her as she entered the bustling city marketplace. Zelda closed her eyes and breathed deeply; the scent was so familiar, she'd know it anywhere. An alluring combination of cooking food, roasting slices, different passing perfumes, and the nearest spa offering the best and most rejuvenating treatments. Even though the Town had changed quite a bit, that smell stayed the same.   
It reminded her of being younger, with Urbosa by her side, leading her through from vendor the vendor. Instead of being saddened by that memory, she pulled from Urbosa's confidence to help her navigate the busy square.

Link had told her that she needed to get to the palace... That would be straight across from where she was now. Perfect. Squaring her shoulders, Zelda forged ahead. Before long she had made it to the steps.

This part looked exactly how it used to, and suddenly she understood how Urbosa got lost in the past. It was torture to be somewhere you used to go with someone without them, knowing they were gone.

Taking in another deep breath, Zelda started up. When she reached the top, the guards both gave her a wary look.

"I am Princess Zelda, of Hyrule." She announced, feeling very plain for that title in her simple dress. "May I have an audience with the Chief?"

The guards both nodded, going back to loosely holding their spears. "She's right inside. Use respect."

"Thank you." Zelda curtsied, then stepped forward.

Instantly, she felt like she had been struck through the heart. All of the aid left her lungs, leaving her petrified.

The Chief was a small girl, and though she looked younger at first, Zelda could tell that they were likely around the same age. Her hair was long and deep red, swept back in a large braid and adorned with a golden headdress. Her eyes were an impossible kind of green, made more intense by the dark eyeliner she wore. The curve of her nose was perfect, the bright blue of her lipstick, the proud angle of her chin... Her clothes were intricate, but in the same way most of the Gerudo dressed, revealing large amounts of golden brown skin.

"Ah, you must be Zelda." She spoke in a high voice, pronouncing her name carefully.

Zel-da. It rolled off her tongue differently from it did on anyone else. She could have listened to her say her name for hours.

She curtsied once more. "Lady Riju."

"Please, just Riju." She stood from her throne, and suddenly she seemed a lot smaller. "Is your mission here diplomatic, or...?"

Zelda swallowed. "Though I do plan on repairing Hyrule castle, that goal is a lofty one, far in the future. Though, if you would like to work logistics, I am open to such."

She shook her head. "There is no need. Hyrule and the Gerudo may have a shaky history, but I have all intentions to back you up in your ascension."

"Thank you."

"There is no need to thank me." Riju said, stepping forward, and if Zelda wasn't mistaken, she was blushing the tiniest bit. "Buliara, we are going to be upstairs."

"Lady Riju, are you sure that's wise?"

She nodded. "I find no threat in her."

Buliara, the imposing guard dressed in almost all white, went back to attention.

Riju winked. "Come, follow me."

Zelda did as she was told, following up a set of stairs, until they were looking over the city.

"It had to have been a trying journey for you to get here." Riju said, leaning against the top of one of the thick stone walls. "You don't need to worry about boarding; you may stay right here in the palace."

"Thank you." Zelda breathed, joining her against the wall. "It's beautiful here."

She smiled. "Thank you. I try to keep the city feeling, well... Alive. Here in the desert, so many of my subjects feel pressed to leave just to find lives or love for themselves, and..."

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"I think I understand."

"I do my best, even though I do not always feel cut out to rule." Riju paused again. "I'm sorry. We've only just met, and in already talking to you about these things."

Zelda shook her head. "Don't apologize; I feel the same way. When Hyrule Castle is reconstructed... I don't know how to rule. I have to admit, I'm afraid."

"I think ruling is always fear, in some capacity." She admitted. "If you aren't at least a little bit afraid, you aren't trying. That's what my mother used to say, anyway."

"It's good advice, though... You have to relax sometime."

"It is difficult, but I agree. It's all about finding the balance between yourself as the ruler, and yourself as the person." Riju sighed. "Sometimes I worry that I cling to childhood things too much, because of it."

Zelda smiled. "I did the same thing."

"Really?" She grinned, a complete change in demeanor. "What was your thing?"

"Science." Zelda admitted, her face heating up. "When I was little, I would go out into the mud with all sorts of frogs and plants and such, dissecting things... It seems odd for a child, maybe, but I loved it."

Riju laughed. "I can't say I've dissected anything, though that's quite interesting. I've always loved sand seals."

"That's adorable."

Riju blushed, turning her face away. "I keep a pet sand seal, her name is Patricia."

Zelda smiled. "I was never allowed to have a pet; she sounds so sweet."

"She really is." Riju agreed, nodding. "She keeps things from being too lonely."

"I understand the feeling."

She sighed, staring out over the city. "When Link told me you were coming... I did hope that we would get along, since we are similar... Now, I wonder why I ever worried."

"Well, we have just met."

"True." Riju laughed. "But still... I just have this feeling, you know? There's something about you that... Never mind."

"What is it?"

"It may not make sense to a Hylian." She warned. "The culture is quite different, after all."

Zelda shrugged. "Perhaps, but maybe not."

Riju sucked in a deep breath. "I think you are very beautiful, and I have a feeling we could become very close... In a way apart from friendship."

Zelda blushed. "Oh."

"I'm sorry." She blurted. "I didn't want to scare you away, since we have just met, I should have-"

"I think you're beautiful, too." Zelda choked out. "Maybe... We'll see where this goes?"

A little laugh bubbled up from Riju's throat. "I guess so... You feel the same?"

She looked over at Riju, how she glowed in the sun, and nodded. "But for now... How about introducing me to Patricia?"

Riju nodded. "She must approve, after all."

"Very important."

And Zelda wondered where this would go as they went back down the stairs to where Patricia was kept, hoping it was good.

No, she had a feeling in her heart she could only describe as a whisper. Urbosa promised that this would turn out good. That it would all be beautiful in the end.

With a smile on her face, she jogged to catch up with Riju.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm too tired to type all of that out.


	10. Linkle/Mina - Treasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the Calamity is over, Linkle has an idea she thinks will be good for Mina as Mils...
> 
> As well as letting her get closer to her favorite treasure hunter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for XmarkZX! Thank you, this was interesting!

After Calamity Ganon was defeated, Linkle was ashamed to say she wandered pretty aimlessly for a bit. Zelda was busy working with Impa in Kakariko, and there didn't seem to be anywhere that she really fit. So she explored, defeating monsters, searching for treasure, trying to solve people's problems... Anything she could do, she did.

As she travelled, she tried to stop thinking about her. Every time her eyes closed, that same face flashed across her mind. Those light brown eyes, the gleaming silver hair... She tried not to search for her, but it took all her willpower.

Instead, when she stumbled on Mina and her twin brother, Mils, she already had an idea.

It was quick work to dispose of the bokoblins attacking them, coming up from behind and giving the monsters a nasty surprise.

"Seriously, Mina! I can't keep doing this!" Mils yelled, gripping a nasty gouge on his arm. "This is crazy! We've barely found any treasure here, and, and... That's a lot of blood."

"Shut up and sit down, Mils." Mina grumbled, sheathing her sword and rushing over to him. "Now let me see that."

Slowly, he crumpled down to the ground. "I'm done with this."

Mina glanced over her shoulder at Linkle. "Thank you. Once I finish with this I have a-"

Linkle shook her head, Mina's words metaphorically shaking her back to reality. Digging around in her bag, she eventually found a fairy tonic. She popped out the cork, then passed it to Mina.

"Have him drink it." She signed once her hands weren't full. "It'll heal him."

Mina raised a questioning eyebrow, but did as she told her. Mils, for his part, didn't object one bit, just tipping the potion back and downing it. The gash healed in a flutter of sparkles, skin stitching itself back together.

"Wow, that's amazing!" His eyes went wide. "What is that?"

"Fairy Tonic." She explained simply. "A fairy helped me make it."

"You must be some kind of magic." Mina stood up. "Thank you. If you'd like, you could stay for dinner? I have to repay you somehow."

Linkle nodded. "That'd be nice. Thank you."

As Mina set about cooking, Mils had already fallen asleep. She couldn't blame him, though. That had been quite taxing emotionally, if nothing else.

"He hates this life." Mina stated, poking at the fire. "But he doesn't have anywhere else to go, so we wander. I love it, but him... Not so much."

"I think I understand, and... I wanted to talk to you about an idea I had."

"Oh?" Mina flicked her hair out of her face. "What is it? I'm all ears... Especially is it has to do with treasure."

Linkle was struck, in that moment, by how gorgeous she was. All harsh eyeliner and light silver hair, framing her face perfectly.

She blushed. "I was wondering if you'd rather have me as a traveling companion. There's a house I own up in Hateno, if Mils needs a place to stay."

Her eyes widened. "I couldn't, that's generous of you, but... I couldn't. I don't like owing people, you know?" 

Linkle shook her head. "You wouldn't owe me, I promise. I... I want to travel with you."

Mina's cheeks flushed light pink. "If you insist it wouldn't be a problem... And would Mils be able to find work?"

"Absolutely." She nodded. "There are a lot of people who need extra work around in Hateno... And definitely opportunities to apprentice himself, if that's more his jam. There's a dye shop, and I'm sure Sayge would appreciate having someone to work for him during the day... Or night. Either way."

"Well then... That would be lovely."

Linkle smiled, then sat across from her at the fire. "Well, we should probably start this cooking, huh? What were you planning?"

"Meat and rice bowls." She stated simply, pouring rice from a container into the pot, then filling it with water. "This should take a little bit, but it's pretty good."

"Well, all the food I've had from you before has been good, so I definitely trust you on that."

Mina blushed again, ripping up some Hyrule herbs and tossing it into the pot. "Well, I'm glad you haven't just been pretending to like it."

"Like what?" Mils muttered, waking up from his nap. "Huh?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "We'll talk about your idea over dinner, but... I would love that. And I think Mils will too."

Linkle smiled, having to glance away to hide how red she was blushing. Her motives may not have been the purest for joining Mina in looking for treasure. In truth, well...

Mina was the only treasure she was looking for.

***

"At this rate, I'm going to owe you forever, you know." Mina grumbled, wrapping a deep cut on Linkle's thigh with bandaging. "You could have died! I would have been fine if I took that hit."

Linkle, a little sleepy from the blood loss, shook her head. "I wouldn't have died, I have Mipha."

She rolled her eyes. "Doesn't she bring you back when you die?"

"Well... Yeah."

"Than that counts as dying, and I don't want to watch you die. Okay?"

She nodded. "No dying. Got it."

Mina sighed. "I'm serious, though. I... I know I put on a tough act, but I don't want to see you get hurt."

Linkle smiled. "I love you too."

Instantly, she turned blood red. "I didn't-" She sighed again, shoulders dropping. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess?" 

"So wait - you said you..."

She nodded.

"Well, at least I know why you're always so selfless all the time." Mina shook her head, wrapping the wound a little tighter.

But still, there was a little smile on her face. 

"And you definitely can't die, now that you've told me that." She added, typing off the bandage. "Alright?"

Linkle laughed.

"I'm serious!"

"I love you a lot, and I'll try not to die. Deal?"

She sighed. "Deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Supertinydom and Supertinywords, as always!
> 
> Requests are open!
> 
> Comments are love <3


	11. Zelpha - Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mipha gets injured, and Zelda wishes she could never get hurt again, but she wishes that Zelda would never have to worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested by Shneurkle! Thank you, this was one I really enjoyed <3

"Well now you've done it, haven't you?" Zelda shook her head, checking the bandaging on Mipha's thigh. "What happened?"

Mipha sighed, relaxing into the waterbed. "Well, there was a lynel..."

"Of course there was."

"But the important thing is that it won't be terrorizing the people in the new settlement up there anymore." She smiled weakly. "It wasn't that bad."

"It wasn't that bad?" Zelda scoffed. "You look terrible."

"Is it really that bad?"

"Well..." 

She took a deep breath. "Tell me the damage."

"Well, to start, you have a slash across your forehead."

Mipha nodded. "I remember that. It made it hard to see for the rest of the fight."

Zelda blinked. "Well, I can imagine so. Let's see... Scrapes all along your left side, including some deeper ones from some rocks, most likely."

"That must have been when I got knocked down. I slid quite a ways."

"That would make sense." She sighed, continuing to trace the bandage on her thigh. "Then there's this cut here, and another across your chest, and a deep one on your right arm..."

"Hence why it's immobilized?" Mipha asked. "I did wonder about that."

Zelda nodded. "Until it can be fully healed... It's better to just immobilize the whole arm."

"That does make sense."

It makes sense. The simplicity of the sentence was maddening, as if this was routine. She almost died. Zelda had lost Mipha once before; and she could most certainly say never again.

She sucked in a deep breath. "You can't just do things like that."

Mipha pressed her eyes shut. "I know... I'm sorry."

"I'm just-" Zelda sighed. Her brief bout of anger dissolved. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Come here."

With her available arm, Mipha hugged her as best as she could, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her breaths were strong and even, and Zelda found herself relaxing into the rise and fall of her chest. She was okay. Her heart was still beating. It was alright.

"Better?" She asked, gently stroking Zelda's hair. "I'm alright. You don't have to worry about me, Love."

Zelda took a deep breath, letting her eyes fall shut. "I just can't lose you again. You know that. I..."

Mipha shushed her gently, still stroking her hair, pressing another kiss to her head. "I'm alright. I'm not going to die."

"I know." She breathed, climbing all the way up onto the bed to lie next to her girlfriend. "I know."

They lay like that for a long time, until the sun had set, and Mipha fell asleep. Zelda, though, was left wide awake, her thoughts running a thousand miles an hour. She couldn't help but think about what would have happened if Mipha wasn't okay, if things had gone worse than thy already did... Sure, the new village they started further up from Zora's Domain was safe, but if Mipha had been more badly hurt?

Or worse, killed?

What would she have done? Zelda couldn't imagine her life without her, now. They had lived together for the past year since the defeat of Calamity Ganon. She had grown accustomed to waking up next to Mipha, to cooking meals for two, to having someone to share everything with at the end of the day. She couldn't stand to sleep in an empty bed ever again, without the promise of Mipha coming home soon.

As if she could hear Zelda thinking about her, Mipha stirred, taking a deep breath, her eyelids fluttering open. "Mm, Zel?"

"Yes, Love?"

She blushed, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. "Could you get me a drink of water?"

"Of course."

Slowly, as to not disturb any of Mipha's wounds, Zelda scooted out of their bed. She quietly padded across the room to the water pitcher, and poured her a glass. 

"You were in my dream." Mipha said, trying to scoot herself into as upright a position as she could with her arm strapped down. "You were painting. It was a sunset, I think... But it also looked like a portrait. You know how dreams are, like that."

Zelda smiled, shaking her head as she returned with the water. "I've never been much good at actual painting. Always just the sketches I did in my scientific journals."

She hummed. "Still, it was nice to see you so relaxed. Thank you."

Mipha downed the glass in no time at all, setting the empty cup on their bedside table.  
Crawling in beside her once more, Zelda pulled the covers over both of them. As the night progressed it was getting colder and colder.

"I don't want you to worry." She said, leaning her head toward Zelda. "I never want you to have to worry, ever, ever again."

"We both know that's not going to happen."

"I know." Mipha sighed, putting her arm around her. "Though... Things are getting better, I think. That's the first lynel I've seen around here in a long time."

"And hopefully it will be the last." Zelda sighed, running her fingers along Mipha's collarbone. "If I could, I would make it so you could never get hurt again."

She laughed. "We both have impossible wishes for each other, don't we?"

"I guess we do." 

"I love you, Zelda." Mipha whispered, letting her eyes fall shut. "But I believe that I'm falling asleep again."

"I love you too, Mipha." She smiled, leaning up to kiss her on the cheek. "Get some rest."

Mipha blushed a little bit, a faint smile on her lips, her breaths becoming even as she slipped into sleep. Zelda stayed awake a little longer though, just watching the rise and fall of her chest, the flaring and closing of her gills. She thanked the goddess that they had been lucky, that she was safe... 

The next few days would be hard though, she was sure. Mipha didn't like to lie still, even if she understood why she had to. Maybe she would make crab cakes in the morning, her favorite. That could make this a little more bearable. 

Making it more bearable.

Watching Mipha sleep, Zelda tried to just quiet down and follow suit, but her head was still just too loud. She wanted to see what she could do for Mipha, if there was anything she could do to make her more comfortable. Even though she was sleeping now, the urge hadn't gone away. She wanted to kiss every wound if it would make it all better, to do anything she could.

That's just what love was, she supposed, trying to let her shoulders relax. And in the morning, she would do everything she could for Mipha, but right now? She would want her to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blah, blah, blah, I'm Supertinywords and Supertinydom.
> 
> I'm on one more request, then I'm empty! If you've got ideas...
> 
> Comments are love <3


	12. Mipha/Isha - Muse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mipha finally gets out of Zora's Domain to travel. First stop: Gerudo Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by Kayuuuubi on Tumblr, who I love <3

Traveling isn't something that Mipha really thought she'd end up doing, so when she hit the road on her own, it was both exciting and a bit terrifying. Especially headed into more dry regions... But she had always wanted to see Gerudo Town, so there was no way to avoid the dry other than lots of elixirs. Her backpack clattered together because of them, but it was well worth it to keep from dehydrating. The sun was brutal, pounding down on her, making her feel faint.

It wasn't very long ago that she had left the Kara Kara Bazaar, but it felt like an eternity. The first thing she did when she got to that waypoint was take off her backpack and jump into the water. Nothing was more satisfying than that.

It sounded even better now, the further away it got...

But Gerudo Town was just up ahead. Taking another swig of her elixir, wiping her brow, and squinting at the sand-colored structure, there was no mistaking it. A tower rose from the center of the town, flowering with plants and running with water. The sounds of an active marketplace were carried softly by the breeze. With them came the faint smell of food she had never tried before, but the scent alone had her mouth watering.  
Steeling her resolve, Mipha took a deep breath and marched on. Figures were visible by the gate, now, guards by the looks of them. They were beautiful, tall, with long red hair like Urbosa's.

Absently, she wondered if she would get to see Urbosa. That would be nice.

The gate loomed closer and closer, though, until she was right there, the guards looking at her with softened expressions. 

"Pardon me," Mipha turned to the closer one, on her right. "My name is Mipha. I was wondering if you knew the best place to stay in the town?"

"Well, sav'aaq, Mipha." She said her name with the 'ph' almost sounding like a 'v.' "I am Dorrah, and you'd be looking for the Hotel Oasis. It's run by a vai named Romah, tell her I said hello... And to get you in for a spa treatment, discounted."

Mupha blushed. "I couldn't possibly-"

"The sun has nearly dried you out, little vai." Dorrah chided with a little click of her tongue. "She will agree, for your skin's sake."

"Well, thank you for the recommendation, you've been very kind."

She nodded graciously. "And, for your added benefit, you may wish to learn a little Gerudo, if you plan to stay long. For example, 'sarqso' means 'thank you'."

Mipha nodded. "Sarqso, then."

Dorrah smiled. "Sav'orq, then, and good luck in the city."

With that, she smiled again, took a deep breath, and walked in through. Immediately, she was swept up in the motion of the crowd. The city seemed packed, different smells bombarding her nose in combinations of sweetness and spice, like the best perfume she'd ever found. Vai in lightweight clothes and heavy jewelry squeezed past her, on their way to somewhere or other. All in all, Mipha felt very, very small.

"Sav'aaq, are you looking for something?" A middle-aged Gerudo with her hair pulled back in an intricate bun asked. "I can point you in the right direction; you look lost."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm looking for the Hotel Oasis. Is that close by?"

"Oh, yes." The vai smiled kindly. "Here, I'll lead you there. Just follow behind me."

Mipha did as she was told, glad for this stranger to be with her, cutting the crowd. She was so tiny that she feared she'd be lost or stepped on, otherwise.

"Here we are." She announced. "I'll hand you over to Romah, inside. Oh, and I'm Fegran, by the way."

"Tha- Sarqso, Fegran." Mipha nodded deeply. "I'm Mipha."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mipha." Fegran smiled. "I hope you find your stay in Gerudo Town enjoyable. It's much better now, since Naboris has settled down."

"I can imagine." 

"Anyway, I'll leave you to the spa."

"Sarqso, again."

Fegran only smiled, and faded back into the crowd. 

Mustering her courage once more, Mipha stepped inside. Immediately she was hit by what felt like a wall of fragrance; this was clearly where the perfume smell was coming from.

"Welcome to Hotel Oasis! I take it you're here for the special spa plan, little vai?" A middle aged vai with green lipstick, she would guess Romah, asked. "Or are you looking for a room?"

Mipha took a breath. "I was told I should ask for the spa plan... Dorrah recommended you."

"Oh, of course. I take it she also said to ask for a discount?"

She blushed.

"Is isn't often I get Zora customers coming in here... Alright, that would be sixty rupees, as opposed to the regular eighty. A bed would cost you twenty, if you were interested."

Mipha nodded, digging through her bag for the pouch with her rupees. "Thank you very- Sarqso."

Romah smiled, and accepted the payment. "Alright, there's a couch over there where you can wait, and you can take off that pack, too. Tauma is in there right now, but I'm sure it will be no time at all."

Nodding graciously, she made her way over to the indicated couch... And that's where Mipha saw her.

Even sitting down, Mipha could tell she was very tall. All of the Gerudo were, but... Something just felt more special about her height. From the delicately arranged bun on her head to the gold toe of her shoes, she was bedecked in jewels and accessories. Her face was round and soft, with incredibly green eyes and dark lipstick adding just a little bit of edge.

Mipha was left breathless.

"Oh, I'm sorry, let me scoot over for you." She said in a high, dreamy voice, just as soft as her face.

Managing to pull herself together, Mipha sat down. "Sarqso. I- I'm Mipha."

She smiled. "Sav'aaq, Mipha. I'm Isha."

The 'sh' was almost hissed, and again the 'ph' was almost a 'v' sound but it had never sounded more beautiful than coming from her lips.

"Your jewelry is very beautiful," Isha commented, raising her hand to touch part of her headpiece then pulling away. "May I take a closer look?"

Mipha swallowed and nodded, feeling her face heating up as Isha leaned so close. Her perfume was soft and floral, her hands delicate and warm as they brushed her skin.

"I make jewelry, you see." She whispered, leaning very close, running a hanging bead back and forth in her fingers. "You inspire me to do something different, maybe... I've never had a Zora customer before, but I would love to make something for you."

"I really couldn't, if it's any trouble." She stammered, having to look away from Isha to regain her voice.

"No, it would be no trouble at all." Isha shook her head, her braided pigtails swaying just a little bit. "It would be a pleasure to make something for you... Though, I imagine I'd need measurements... Perhaps something with opal?"

"Well, if you insist it would be no problem, I would be delighted." Mipha stated.

Isha smiled, the brightness of it overwhelming. "Sarqso! You are so beautiful, it would be an honor to be inspired by you."

She blushed.

"How long are you staying here? Do you know?"

Mipha shrugged. "I don't really have a plan, so I am fairly free."

"This just continues to get better." Isha smiled again, releasing the bauble she was toying with. "I wonder if I could... I could design a whole collection based off of you, one for every precious stone. The topaz would bring out your eyes... And provide protection from electricity."

"That's very important, as a Zora."

"I can't even imagine, and with that trident you were carrying, I can imagine you encounter quite a bit of trouble." She nodded in agreement. "So perhaps that would be the wisest to start with, or..."

As she was thinking, and Mipha was watching her, how her brows furrowed together and her lips scrunched in the cutest way, a Hylian came in from the back room. Her skin was practically glowing, her hair lustrous. Romah followed after her.

"Isha, I'm sure topic an wait a little longer while I help this little vai? Her skin is so dried out."

Mipha blushed self-consciously.

Isha only nodded. "Of course. After we're done... Would you care to meet me in my shop? It's called Starlight Memories, and it's just next door."

She nodded as she stood up, surprised when Isha stood up too, pressing her in a quick hug. "Sav'orq, Mipha, until later."

Mipha blushed so red she was sure all of her was one single color. "Sav'orq, Isha."

***

"I'm sorry," Isha whispered, pulling her measuring tape back from where she had been measuring on Mipha's fin. "I know it's not very professional of me."

She had been staying here for weeks, eventually switching to sleep in Isha's house instead of the inn. In all that time, she had never seemed so... Glum.

"What is it?"

She sighed, letting her shoulders droop. "I shouldn't have done it, but what the heart does, it does in rebellion, I suppose. Though, that is the most classic picture, isn't it?"

Mipha frowned. "What is?"

"For an artist to fall in love with one's muse."

She couldn't believe her ears. "You are..."

"I know." Isha turned her head away. "It's not very-"

"I feel the same towards you."

"What?"

"The moment I saw you, my breath was taken away." Mipha started, taking a deep breath. "And since then, I... Who you are on the inside has only matched that."

"Really?"

She nodded.

"Than you-" Isha broke into a smile. "My ancestors have surely blessed me."

Mipha couldn't do anything but smile, too shocked for her body to process anything but pure happiness. She kept smiling when Isha went back to her measurements, and she had a feeling she smiled all night, too. Part of her wished that she had travelled sooner, if only to meet Isha sooner. 

She could almost stay here forever, she was sure. Just sitting in this chair, with Isha's eyes on her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Supertinydom or Supertinywords are great places to scream at me on tumblr
> 
> Requests are open!
> 
> Comments are Love <3


	13. Loone/Linkle - Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loone should be satisfied with the guardians, but the image of the pretty girl who showed them to her won't get out of her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I don't know what this is

Loone was starting to get very, very annoyed with herself. She had seen the pictures of the guardians. She had a guardian right here, and even though it was dead that definitely counted. There was even a live one right there up the beach from her! So why couldn't she just focus on them?

This had never been a problem for her before. Ever since she was a kid, she always had one interest, and it stuck with her until she found a new one that was more exciting. But now? It felt like there was just this huge void. She didn't want to look at the guardian. Staring up at it from her camp every day was getting incredibly boring. 

But there was a certain blonde whose face wouldn't leave her mind.

She didn't plan on falling for the pretty girl who showed her the photos. Hell, she didn't even catch her name. So instead she was stuck here, without even a name to go off of.

Of course, she could take up adventuring again, and try to find her that way, but... What if they never saw each other? Hyrule was big, after all. What if she never found her?

But of course, as Loone was debating it, there she came. Sunlight turned her blonde hair to gold. Her cheeks were pink, flushed from running, but it didn't seem like she was running from anything. Just running along the shore...

Loone swallowed, standing up from her spot and giving the dead guardian a pat for good luck. She was going to go out there and talk to that golden sunshine girl.  
As she got closer, though, her legs started to shake. What if she thought that she was crazy? Most people thought that, after all. Everyone said that her obsessions were too intense, or that she was creepy...

But it wasn't worth it to think about those things. All that she could afford to think about was trying her very best to make a good first impression. Well, second. Actually, come to think of it, this was more like a third impression.

Maybe she was irredeemable by that point, but again, she couldn't afford to think about that.

Sucking in a deep breath and mustering all her courage, Loone hurried closer.

Immediately, the girl stopped. "Is something wrong?" She signed, just like she had before.

Loone shook her head. "No, I just... I realized I never caught your name."

She looked confused, brows furrowed, blinking quickly. "Linkle."

Linkle. That was the name to go with the face that had been stuck in her head for so long. It was so cute... Just like her.

"Well, I'm Loone." She stuck out her hand to shake, trying a shaky smile. "I was hoping we could start over from all that, you know... Other stuff."

Linkle chuckled at that. "Are you over the guardians?"

"Yeah... They aren't as cool as they used to be, I don't think."

She nodded, then gave her a little smirk. "Found something cooler?"

Loone only shrugged. "So, where are you headed?"

"Who knows?" Linkle stared out over the ocean. "I've just been wandering down the beach for a while, now."

"Mind if I wander with you?"

"Not at all."

They walked silently for a while, just listening to the sound of the ocean waves and Loone's heart beating out of her chest.

"So..." Linkle glanced over at her. "How did you get down here?"

She shrugged. "I travelled a lot for a while, searching for, well... Searching for purpose, I guess."

"So when you found the-"

"Don't bring up the ball." Loone could feel herself turning bright red. "That was one of the weirder of my phases."

"One of?"

"Well..." She trailed off, glancing away, at the ocean. "There were frogs, at first. Then dogs, apples, architecture, old statues, the Heteno Tech Lab... Then the ball, and the guardians, and now it's you- nothing! It's not anything right now."

Linkle laughed. "You're bad at keeping secrets, aren't you?"

Sighing, Loone tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Well... Yeah. I think you're very pretty."

She smiled. "Thank you?"

"It's not a 'sit there and stroke your beautiful luminous face' pretty." Loone clarified. "More of a 'I think you're really cool and the fact that you took pictures of guardians makes me wonder what kind of life you live and I want to know more about you' kind of pretty."

Linkle nodded. "Glad for the clarification... You're pretty cute, too."

And just like that, she was a blushing, stuttering puddle. "Well you- I'm not- you- thank you."

She laughed again. "Not used to compliments?"

"Well, no, not really..." Loone scratched the back of her neck. "Most people just call me crazy."

"Don't worry about it." Linkle patted her shoulder. "Everyone thinks I'm crazy too."

"Really? Why?"

"Well..." She winced. "You'll think I'm crazy too, if I tell you."

Loone couldn't shake her head enthusiastically enough. "No, I promise, I really won't."

Linkle smiled. "Well... Okay. I'm the hero of legend."

She blinked. "Like... From the Calamity? From a hundred years ago?"

"The one and only."

"I thought, well..." Loone frowned. "I don't want to sound rude..."

"That I died? I did. I got put in the ancient Sheikah shrine of resurrection."

Her eyes widened. "That's not what I was thinking, but now we've gotta go there."

Linkle chuckled. "We can do that... What were you thinking, though?"

"That all the stories say the hero is a boy."

"I'm not." She cringed, shoulders tightening. "But I'm... I'm trans."

"Oh." Loone shrugged. "Okay. Wow, you're the real hero? Don't you have like, heroic things you have to do?"

Linkle shook her head. "Calamity Ganon is dead. I'm... Well, I'm pretty much free."

"Free to go up to the shrine of resurrection with me?"

She laughed. "You bet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh.... Supertinywords and Supertinydom....
> 
> Requests are open! I have twleve more days I have no plans for
> 
> Comments are love <3


	14. Paya/Linkle - Warm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paya isn't sure about being in love with a girl, but she is sure about being in love with Linkle... And making sure she stays warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was suggested by XmarkZX!

Being in love was a foreign concept to Paya, especially when it was another girl. But the last time Linkle came to Kalariko, she told Impa and her that Linkle was her name now, not Link, and that she was a girl. It made a lot of sense, in hindsight, but certainly not for Paya's feelings. She had expected them to go away by this time, but they most certainly hadn't. It was a little frustrating, sure, but it was mostly confusing. Could she be in love with a girl?

Paya frowned down at her journal as she wrote, lips pursed tightly together.

"Linkle came back to Kakariko Village, yesterday, and my heart doesn't know what to feel. She's a girl, now, or maybe she always was but now she's telling people about it. Either way, I... I didn't think that I could be in love with a girl, but maybe that's what this is. I'll have to ask Grandmother about it tomorrow.  
"Though, if her relationship with Princess Zelda is how I thought, maybe I don't need to ask her at all. I care about her a lot, no matter what. This doesn't change that she's the person I fell in love with at all, it's just more honest.

"Honest. I like the idea of Linkle being honest with me. It makes my heart feel as if it's going to die soon, and my face turns bright red, but... In a good way. -Paya."

Closing her journal, Paya let out a sigh. There wasn't much she could change about how she felt, other than wait for it to go away, and she didn't think that would happen. She could always...  
Yes, that would be a good idea. Though, she would have to ask Mei to teach her how to knit.

***

Knitting was a lot harder than Paya had initially thought, but after many, many nights of patiently working with Mei, she finally had a pair of knit gloves she was proud of. They were thick and warm, and just enough too big for Paya that she hoped they would fit Linkle. 

After all, it would be a huge disappointment if they didn't.

"I finished the gloves today, and now I only wait for when Linkle comes back to Kakariko. It usually isn't too long in between her visits, but it's been a little while... I'm not going to worry, though. She's always come back safe and sound before. I just have to pray that the goddess keeps her safe... And that the gloves fit. I don't want her hands getting cold; this winter has been brutal, so far.

"I really hope she likes them. -Paya."

***

"It's been two days, and still no Linkle. Is it bad that I'm getting worried? I know that she's the Hero, and she's the most capable warrior in all of Hyrule, but... I need to know that she's safe. - Paya."

"It's the next night, and she's still not here... Maybe I'll make a hat to go along with the gloves. More knitting could keep my mind off all of... This. -Paya."

"I've finished the hat! Linkle still has not returned... Grandmother gave me a sly smile when I asked her about it, and told me not to worry. I will try my best, but I still lie awake at night and wonder where she is. On occasion, she's told stories of all the wonderful places she's gone... It amazes me that there are such different places from where I've grown up, but there is still much danger in traveling how she does.  
"I suppose I'll have to pray extra hard tonight, begging the goddess for her safety. -Paya."

***

Linkle arrived three days after Paya's last journal entry, and by that time she had nearly completed a scarf, too. Such relief washed over her upon seeing that familiar golden hair from her window that Paya nearly ran down the stairs to hug her. Instead, she sped up on the knitting. Only a little more to go... At this point she had gotten fairly quick; she could have it finished in the few minutes while Linkle was downstairs talking to her grandmother.

She just hoped that she didn't leave before then.

Usually she made a point of stopping in to talk with Paya, which made her heart melt with excitement. Just that little bit of conversation made her willing to wait weeks for Linkle to come back. It wasn't nearly enough to keep from missing her, or worrying, but it made her feel good. Special.

Just as she was finishing up tying the end, Paya heard the stairs creak. Unless her Grandmother had gotten a lot more nimble in the past ten minutes, it was Linkle.

Hurriedly, she tied off the end and cut the yarn. Perfect. Scrambling over to the bed, she grabbed the box she had put the gloves and hat into, and threw the scarf in with it.

Then Linkle was standing there at the top of the stairs, her cheeks round and rosy, a smile on her perfect lips. She had a bouquet of purple flowers in her hands, holding them out to her.

Paya gasped. "Are these the armoranth you were talking about?"

She nodded.

Gingerly, she took them from Linkle's hands, and breathed in deeply. The smell was sweet and floral; nothing like the winter that surrounded Kakariko Village right now.

"Those are for you." Linkle signed with a smile. "To keep. I thought it would be nice to have a little bit of spring, here."

Paya's face turned bright red, and she tried her best to hide it in the flowers. Then she remembered.

"Wait! I have something for you, too." She set down the flowers gently on her pillow, then grabbed the box. "Here."

Linkle blushed a little as she took the box, opening it with careful fingers. Then she smiled wide, setting the box back down and taking out the scarf.

"Did you make these?"

She nodded.

"They're amazing, thank you." Linkle was smiling so wide it was nearly blinding. "I wanted to ask you... Would you want to get dinner together, sometime?"

"Abso- defini- yes. Absolutely yes." Paya struggled to get the words out, sputtering through her smile.

"As a date."

And just like that, she fainted. 

***

The next day they sat next to the cook pot together, sipping spiced warm milk, all bundled up in warm clothes. Linkle said that the gloves fit perfectly, and the way that the hat and scarf looked on her...

Paya was fairly sure she would die of happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Supertinywords and Supertinydom are bith me on Tumblr!
> 
> Requests are open!
> 
> Comments are love <3


	15. Zelda/Celessa - Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Celessa is finally going to meet her hero, Princess Zelda, but she's a little bit afraid. What will she even be like?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this isn't very romantic, but I'm in a weird spot rn. But it's for Stephanilli, or A-Perplexing-Puzzle on Tumblr!

When Link said that she could introduce her to the Princess Zelda herself, for real, Celessa didn't believe him. But now, standing at the tree in Hateno where he said they would meet... She was scared. Zelda had been her hero for so long... What would it be like to meet her?

At least she had the tiniest idea of what to expect. She was short, but apparently a little taller than Link. Every record says she had long blonde hair, and that she preferred to dress practically over anything too fancy. She knew the recordings of her prayers; petitions for peace, more like. That was really all Link had told her, too. For being the chosen hero, he really wasn't very useful for getting information about someone. Then again, those things she wanted to know might be more appropriately asked of the princess herself.  
To think that this was a princess, no, a girl who was at the brink of taking over her kingdom, at the brink of a war with a force they didn't understand, and she was the only one who could hold it back? Zelda was her age, at the time. Only seventeen. How could she endure something so terrible?

Though, now, she was probably an old woman. She was more like a hundred and seventeen, and with no shrine of resurrection to help her like Link had...

But there she was, and no amount of preparation, no amount of information, could have helped Celessa. Instantly, she was starstruck.

Her hair wasn't just blonde, it was glowing, her braid like a golden crown wrapped around her head. Her face was round and pretty, with strong eyebrows and dainty lips. She was, true to stories, dressed practically in Hylian traveling clothes, but the way that color of green looked on her...  
Even like this, dressed down, if you will, she looked like the goddess. Statues of her seemed to mimic Zelda's face, as if trying to impersonate her. None of them came close, though. Their stony faces lost the softness, the beauty.

"So, I hear you've been following me." Zelda joked, tossing a bit of hair over her shoulder. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"A pleasure to- I've been- it really is an honor, to meet you, Princess Zelda."

Her nose wrinkled. "Please, just Zelda."

"Zelda." The name felt wrong on her lips, like opening her eyes during prayer. "I never dreamed of meeting you, you've been my hero since I was a little girl."

"Really?" Zelda paused, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

Celessa could feel her face heating up, but she couldn't just shut up now. "Well... I was raised in a very religious family. When I learned about you, there was just something about it... I don't know, but it struck a cord with me. You were in the worst circumstances, facing war and... You didn't pray for a way a smite your enemies. Instead, you prayed for peace. I wanted to be like that."

Zelda let out a slow breath. "I don't Iike to talk about that time, but... Yes."

"I'm sorry, that wasn't very sensitive of me."

"That's alright." She smiled. "I was the one who asked. I just don't think of myself as the hero." 

"Well, you should." Celessa insisted. "Without you, no one would have held Ganon back. Everything would be destroyed."

"I suppose you're right... Come, let's walk." Zelda tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I don't like staying in one place for too long."

"Alright then, where should we wander?"

"Not towards the fort." She answered quickly. "Too much... I don't want to go back down there."

Celessa nodded. "That makes sense." 

"It feels so stupid, sometimes." Zelda sighed, her lips drawn in a tight line. "So much of Hyrule is covered in places that are just too familiar, or they bring back too many memories."

"No, it's not stupid." She laid her hand on her shoulder. "How you feel isn't stupid."

Zelda gave her a weird look, then smiled, relaxing her shoulders. "You know, I think you're the first one to just tell me that."

Celessa could feel her face heating up. "Really?"

She shrugged. "Everyone says it's okay, or that it'll go away, but... As simple as that was, it helped."

"Well, I..." Celessa swallowed. "I'm glad to be able to help."

Zelda laughed. "You know, you can relax."

That only made her blush darker. "Well..."

"Can you swim?" 

Celessa nodded. "Of course."

"Well, we're in Hateno, aren't we?" Zelda elbowed her lightly, smiling impossibly bright. "Then let's head down to the beach."

Zelda winked, then started running up to the path...

And as she had for so long, Celessa followed her.

***

"You know something, Celessa?"

They had been playing in the ocean for the majority of the afternoon, both stripped down to their underwear, both of their clothes and Celessa's backpack left up by the path. Now they were lying in the sand, basking in the warm sun, slowly drying off.

"What is it?"

She sighed, squeezing some of the water out of her hair. "When Link first told me about you, I was... Apprehensive at best. I hate being put up on a pedestal, but... I'm glad that I agreed to meet you."

Celessa could feel herself blushing. "You are? Even after the rough first impression?"

Zelda laughed. "Yes, yes I am... Are you often around Hateno?"

She nodded. "I'm usually down near the fort, since I finally succeeded in making it up to the spring of wisdom... I'm going to be honest, I don't really know what to do with myself."

"Me neither, but... Would you like to stick around more often? I... I could use someone like you around."

Celessa smiled, tucking a lock of Zelda's hair behind her ear. "I would love to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yada yada yada, requests are open!
> 
> Comments are love <3


	16. Zelpha - Size

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years in the future, a typical morning with Zelda and Mipha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested by HopeFeather! Thank you so much, I love these two <3

It was morning in Zora's Domain, the sun well-risen in the sky, streaming through the large windows in Zelda and Mipha's room. Mipha yawned, looking down at the tiny curled up shape of her wife, cuddling close to her.

"Zelda, love, it's time to wake up."

She didn't seem to be convinced, however, making a grumbling noise and nuzzling into her chest. "Five more minutes."

Mipha laughed, gently petting her hair. "We need to get up, though."

"We can't possibly." Zelda groaned, scooting further up to bury her face in Mipha's neck. "What do we have today?"

"We have the meeting with the Gerudo Ambassador at noon, remember?"

"Yes..." She yawned. "But that's at noon, and it's still morning..."

"Something tells me that you want to shower first." Mipha reminded, scratching her scalp. 

Zelda practically moaned. "You're not convincing me to get up, I'll have you know."

"I know, I know... What if I make breakfast?"

"But still, Mipha..."

She sighed, still scratching her head. "Alright. Five more minutes."

"Five more minutes." Zelda mumbled, nuzzling closer."

***

Mipha sighed, sitting down by the fire pit to stir their oatmeal. Getting taller certainly had advantages: being able to reach any shelf anywhere, more powerful swimming, cuddling with Zelda... But it sure made cooking inconvenient. She nearly had to stoop to check the food, or to taste something.

Speaking of Zelda. She padded over from their bedroom, still in only her little white nightdress, hair down and messy. She looked adorable like that.  
Yawning, she came over and leaned on Mipha. Since most of her height was in her upper body, Mipha was still much taller than her, even when she was sitting down. 

"Good morning, Mipha." She rested her head against her arm, totally relaxing into her. "What are you making?"

"Oatmeal."

"Mm... You really are the best, love."

Mipha could feel herself blushing. Even after this long, after having gotten married to her and everything, things Zelda said still made her blush like Sidon's Fanclub when he decides to forgo the royal dress clothes.

"The oatmeal will be done in about a minute." She stated, not sure of what else to say. "I've got some wildberries, too."

"Wildberries?" Zelda's eyes went wide, and she pulled back from Mipha's arm to look at her. "Where on earth did you get any?"

"Link gave me some when he last dropped in."

"Well, that's incredible." She stepped up onto Mipha's leg, leaning up to kiss her on the cheek. "How did I not know about them?"

Mipha smiled, and kissed her back. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well, it certainly was." Zelda smiled, and leaned up to kiss her again.

Just another thing Mipha would never grow tired of: kissing Zelda. Her lips were full and soft, gentle right now but not always. The way she leans in with her whole body, looping her arms around her neck...

Finally, she pulled away. "The oatmeal is probably overcooked by now."

Mipha turned bright red, grabbing the spoon again. Sure enough, it was overcooked and a little mushy. Disappointed, she scooped it put into two bowls, putting the wildberries on top anyway.

"Mm mm." Zelda smiled. "The overcooking doesn't matter at all, it's delicious."

"Are you only saying that to be nice?"

"Of course not." Zelda snorted. "You're my wife; I tell you when the food you cook is bad."

Mipha raised her brow. "Like when?"

"I'll let you know." She took another bite, smirking just a little bit. "You have yet to cook something disgusting."

"What is it that Link calls it?"

Zelda's nose wrinkled. "Dubious food."

"No dubious food here." Mipha nodded. "When we finish, we should probably go clean off."

"Together?"

She tried bright red. "Well, that wouldn't really accomplish the purpose of cleaning off, would it?"

Zelda laughed. "You are right, though I am a bit disappointed."

"We do have a meeting, you know." Mipha reminded. "And we probably shouldn't be late."

"I know. And we won't be. Come in, let's go clean up."

"Have you already finished?" Her eyes widened. "I'll never understand how you do that."

Zelda winked, then came up to kiss Mipha on the cheek again, having to lean up on her tiptoes. "How about you meet me there. Deal?"

She blushed. "Deal."

And as Zelda sauntered away towards their bathroom, slipping her nightgown over her head, Mipha started to eat a little bit faster.

***

"You know, from the way you were teasing, I figured this really would be a shared shower."

Zelda smirked; she could hear it in her voice. "We have the ambassador to meet, remember? You said it yourself."

Mipha sighed, shaking her head. Zelda was currently in the shower, cleaning off, and she most certainly did not want Mipha to join her.

"Of course, after the ambassador leaves, we may be dirty..."

"Zelda!"

She laughed. "What?"

"Do you have any shame?"

Zelda just kept laughing, if not harder. "Not around you, darling."

"Well, alright then..." She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Besides, once the day is over, you will probably actually need a bath." Zelda commented. "We're working on the crops that are going to be planted up on the hillside, remember?"

"I had completely forgotten."

"Well, at least I'm not completely useless... I'm almost out, by the way."

Mipha shook her head. "You do still take a long time, don't you?"

"I'd like to see you was this much hair." Zelda snorted.

"...I do love washing your hair."

She sighed. "I know... Maybe tonight?"

"That sounds like a plan."

"Good. Now it's your turn in the shower." 

***

Mipha frowned as she fixed her sash. "Do you think it looks strange?"

"What?" Zelda glanced away from the mirror; she was braiding her hair into it's normal crown. "Does what look strange? The sash?"

"No, not the sash. Us, together." She glanced at the mirror, at how large she appeared behind Zelda. "As a couple, it's... Do you think that people think it's strange?"

"Does it matter?"

"No, but..." Mipha sighed. "I'm just insecure, I suppose."

Zelda got up from her chair, leaving her hair half-braided, and walked over to Mipha. Gently, as if they were the same size, she held her hand in both of her own. She ran her thumb back and forth, her Hylian skin soft compared to Mipha's fine scales. 

"I think..." She swallowed. "If they think it's strange, I think they need to deal with it. I love you. Your height isn't something wrong with you, it's something I love." 

Mipha could feel herself blushing, letting out a deep breath. "Alright."

"Besides, am I too small?"

"No!" She blurted, holding Zelda's little dainty hands a littler tighter. "You're perfect."

"Exactly." Zelda smiled. "You're perfect. "Now get down here so I can kiss you."

And while they were on time to meet the ambassador, it was just barely, and Zelda's hair was only hastily finished moments before she arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requests are still open!


	17. Zelpha - Hat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Some kind of royalty AU, but different)
> 
> Zelda had a specific field she ran off to when she needed a breath of fresh air... Though, she wouldn't mind sharing it with this beautiful stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uninspired.... I'm dying

Zelda never felt so free as when she snuck away from the castle. She could never go too far, of course, but past the moat and through the trees was a large, open field dotted with wildflowers. She'd never seen anyone else there, which made it the perfect spot to run away to with her thoughts.

So she ran. Across the field, through the flowers, down to the other side of the pasture and all the way back. Sure, the servants would search for her until they were blue in the face, but that was only if her father asked for her. They knew where she was. She never told them, but they knew from the telltale green marks on her dresses, or on her feet. 

Lady Urbosa had once told her that her mother did this, too. She wondered if her mother had also wished for freedom like she did, to get out of this cage.

But right now, she didn't have to think about the castle, or her father, or any of that. All she had to do was run.

And that, of course, was when her hat had to fly off. That wasn't too bad, in and of itself, but it wasn't exactly proper for a princess such as herself to have her hair fully down like this. It sprang into her face and tangled with her arms as she chased after it, but it was no use. The wind had carried the hat up and away, into some of the trees on the far side. Maybe she could...

But as Zelda was turning around to go try to get the hat, she saw her.

She was standing at the edge of the field, too far to see clearly, but close enough to startle her. Bright red hair shone in the sun, her skin a dark brown, her dress the same red as her hair, almost. She was moving closer, now, coming towards her. Zelda reached up to pull on her hat out of habit, completely forgetting she had lost it just seconds before.

But a face like that will do things like that to you, she supposed. As she got closer Zelda could make out a soft, round face, wide eyes and rouged lips, her hair done in small braids. The girl had to be around her age, likely also nobility by the style, color, and embellishment on her dress. 

"Hello!" The girl waved. "I didn't think I'd meet anyone else here." 

Zelda couldn't keep herself from blushing. "Neither did I. I haven't seen you before, are you..."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Mipha, the... One of the nobility visiting from the Zora Kingdom, to the east."

"I take it that Mipha is a common name, back in Zora?" She guessed. 

Mipha sighed. "It is, especially for girls my age. I suppose you know the princess's name."

"I do, but I understand. My name is Zelda, like our own princess."

"That's so interesting!" She smiled in wonder. "To meet like this, outside the kingdom, being two girls both with the same name as the princess..."

"It truly is quite the coincidence." Zelda agreed, trying not to look directly at her. "So... What brings you here?"

"Freedom." Mipha stated. "Trying to get away, if for only a moment."

"I know the feeling..."

"Yourself?"

"The same." Zelda clarified. "Though, I've never met a pretty girl out here before."

Mipha looked down at the ground, half covering her face with one hand. "And I didn't expect to meet one here, either."

"Well then, I guess... How fast are you?"

"As in... Running?"

Zelda nodded.

Her eyes lit up. "I've been told I'm not bad, though I have a friend who can beat me any time."

"Well..." Zelda squinted at the other edge of the field, where she could see the gleam of white that was her hat stuck in the tree. "Shall we race to the other side?"

"That sounds wonderful."

"Alright! On your marks, get set... Go!"

Sprinting as hard as they could, lifting their skirts to be more out of the way, they ran. There was nothing like the clean air in her lungs, the flowers and grass beneath her feet... Zelda won at the end, but not by much. Both of them finished, panting hard, but smiling wide.

"Well, Zelda," Mipha shook her head. "We'll have to see if I can challenge you swimming, sometime."

"I have to say, I'm not very good at it."

She shrugged. "Well, I'll just teach you then, won't I?"

Zelda could feel her face heating up. She was about to change the subject, but incredibly, Mipha did it for her.

"What's that, up there?"

Once more, she had forgotten about the hat until it was directly in front of her, even though that's why she ran here in the first place, to see if she could get it down. With Mipha here, she wouldn't be surprised if she forgot her head was on her shoulders.

"Oh, my hat flew off earlier." Zelda explained. "That seems to be where it's landed."

Before she could say another word, Mipha was removing her outer skirts.

"What are you doing!?"

"I can't climb the tree in these, can I?" She smiled, setting the skirts down carefully in the grass. "I'll be right back down."

So Zelda watched in awe as Mipha, in only her bodice and bloomers, climbed up the tree towards the windblown hat, reaching up and grabbing it from the branches. 

"I'm going to drop it down to you, alright?"

"Alright!" She called back, getting ready to grab the hat on its way down. 

Thankfully, the wind left it alone, and Zelda placed it back on her head once more.

"Please be careful on the way down!"

"I will," Mipha promised, starting her decent. "Don't worry too much, I'll be alright."

Despite her saying that, Zelda held her breath until she was safely back down on the ground. She swung down from a branch and landed on her feet, brushing off her hands.

"I said I would be fine." Mipha reminded, reaching forward and tucking a lock of Zelda's hair behind her ear. "You look so scared."

"Well, I'll admit... I don't like heights much." She said, trying to hide her face as she blushed from the physical contact. "Even just watching someone else..."

Mipha laughed. "I understand. Every time my little brother, Sidon, climbs something, or swims out too far, I get worried... even if I know he's fine, it's scary."

"Exactly..." Zelda swallowed. "I'll look away while you put those back on."

"Alright."

After Mipha put her skirts back on they talked about anything and everything on their way back across the field. It seemed like they got there too soon, but...

"Will I see you here again?" Mipha asked, taking Zelda's hands in her own. "Same time, tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Same time tomorrow."

They both went their separate ways with extra energy in their steps, smiling wide.

And when they saw each other that night at the banquet, both introduced as Princesses, they shared a knowing look. Apparently they really would have a lot to talk about tomorrow.

Though, if that meant they really would meet again tomorrow, that was all Zelda needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, all of the information that I would probably just keep so I can copy/paste.
> 
> Supertinywords and Supertinydom on Tumblr!
> 
> Requests are open!
> 
> Comments are love <3


	18. Zelda's Mom/Urbosa - Queens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After King Rhoam's death, it's just expected that Queen Zelda would be remarried... Though no one quite expected it would be to Chief Z Urbosa of the Gerudo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for Shneurkle! Thank you <3 this was fun

Queen Zelda smiled as she blew out the last candle in in her daughters room, wishing her sweet dreams once more and shutting the door behind her. All of Hyrule seemed to be in mourning, but not her Little Bird. She was too young to understand what had happened, really. Rhoam was never around to begin with... Not around her, anyway. Especially not in the months leading up to his death. 

The disease had been slow, taking him away until he was only barely holding on. By the end he didn't open his eyes anymore, he hadn't spoken in weeks. To Zelda, his death had been putting him out of his misery. It almost felt wrong to mourn. Not that she was happy he was dead, but because he was happier now where he was than he had been here.

And, well, because it had given Zelda a way out from a marriage she never wanted. 

Afterward, it had made political sense, of course, for Hyrule to ally themselves with the Gerudo. Of all the nations surrounding them, their relations were by far the most strained... Most likely by kings of Hyrule who didn't care one bit about maintaining professional distance. More than a few wars had been started that way.

A marriage alliance had never worked with the Gerudo in years previous, of course. It wasn't a concept that the Gerudo were fond of, especially when it came to the idea of solely marrying Hylian men. But now...

Her marriage to Urbosa had been soon after Rhoam's death, yes, but that was how rulers were expected to act. That wasn't out of the ordinary at all, in concept.

In truth, she had been waiting for that day what felt like her whole life. She and Urbosa had met first when she came to Hyrule Castle on a diplomatic visit, before she was queen. They ended up talking and talking...

She knew it was a bad idea, to fall in love. In a few months she would be married to the king, Rhoam, and that would be that. Still, all she wanted was to spend the rest of her life with this Gerudo Chief.

And she kept coming back. Diplomatic missions, dinners, parties, balls - over five years, those little stolen moments out on the balcony, or dancing together, or talking for hours on end at dinner, barely hiding their interest. The more she tried to convince herself that it wasn't love, that she didn't love her, the stronger she felt.  
The first time Urbosa kissed her, it was like magic.  
There was a banquet going on, the celebration of the solstice, and it was time to put her Little Bird to bed. She was only two, back then, a spirited little girl with the biggest green eyes and the chubbiest little cheeks. 

Zelda had excused herself to go take her away, and Urbosa had elected to go with her. Just like she had tonight, she tucked her in, leaving the room as quietly as she could. Right outside the door, Urbosa had been waiting with adoration in her eyes. She smiled, leaning in, saying something she didn't remember-

And Zelda kissed her. She was the first one to close the distance, to press their lips together. She wasn't thinking about the kingdom, or her husband, or anything but the look in Urbosa's eyes and the warmth of her skin and the way she caressed her neck like she was the most delicate thing in the world.

Urbosa was the first one to pull away. "But what about the king?"

She shook her head. "He knows that I don't love him. Our marriage was arranged, and our feelings... Never followed."

"Mm, so he wouldn't mind?"

"If he does, I'd just have to tell his mistress." 

Urbosa laughed, real and hearty, then kissed her again, a gentle hand on Zelda's lower back, the other cradling her neck.

Blinking, Zelda shocked herself back to reality. It was two years later now. She wasn't just stealing kisses in hallways and sneaking away to spend nights in Urbosa's guest chamber; she was married to her. 

There was no more hiding required.

"Well, I've been looking for you all over." Urbosa came up and hugged her from behind, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "In hindsight, I should have expected you'd be here."

Zelda sighed. "You just missed tucking her in; she's fast asleep."

"I'm too late... Damn. I hope you haven't fallen asleep too."

She laughed. "I'm still standing up, aren't I?"

"I don't know..." Urbosa squeezed he a little tighter. "You seemed to be daydreaming pretty hard there. What were you thinking about?"

Us. "Everything."

"Everything, huh?" She kissed her head again. "How are you doing, though?"

The tension dropped from Zelda's shoulders. "I'm alright. Things are odd, but... I have you."

"You know that I'm going to have to go back to Gerudo Town soon."

"I know..." She turned around, hugging Urbosa for real. "But right now, can you do me a favor?"

"What is it, love?"

"Let's sneak away to our room and pretend that it's never going to end." Zelda whispered into Urbosa's skin. "Just like we used to, hiding away until morning."

She laughed. "Of course. Do you want me to carry you, like I used to?"

"...yes please?"

And as Urbosa carried her away to the master bedroom, her face pressed into her neck, it was almost just like it was before. She knew that, eventually, Urbosa would have to go, but that didn't matter right now. Right now all that mattered was pressing gentle kisses to her wife's neck as she carried her away to their room. 

It was just the two of them in the world, for tonight. They were all that was.

"Here we are, love." Urbosa gently pushed open the door, shut it behind them, and crossed the door to lay her on the bed. 

Zelda laughed. "Alright, I should probably undress, first."

"If I may..."

"Of course."

Urbosa started untying the laces to her corset with quick fingers, pulling out the ribbon in nearly no time at all. Zelda sighed, finally free of the restriction.

"Urbosa?"

She pressed a kiss to her now-bare shoulder. "Yes, love?"

"Come back soon, won't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Zelda could feel her smile, pressed against her neck. "I'm not leaving at all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requests are open! You know where to find me, too.
> 
> Comments are love <3


	19. Zelpha - RWBY AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda is off to Beacon Academy, with mixed feelings mostly consisting of loneliness.  
> Until Mipha sits down with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that RWBY isn't super well known, especially in this circle, but I think I involved enough information in here to be clear? Let me know if you have a question <3

"Beacon Academy..." Zelda muttered under her breath, staring out the train window.

Ever since she was a little girl, she wanted to become a Huntress, but now that it was happening? She found herself with mixed feelings. Entering into four years of rigorous training surrounding combat wasn't the hard part; she had practiced what skills she was taught for self defense until they were perfect, her rapier becoming one of her most prized possessions.

Then there was the problem of semblance. Everyone had one: a secret power you unlocked with your aura that could do all manner of things. It was like magic, almost, but different. Some people's were random, some hereditary. 

It wouldn't be a problem at all, if she could find a way to figure it out.

Supposedly, she should have inherited her mother's 'Sealing.' It would essentially kill lesser Grimm in one go, trapping larger ones so others could attack. And yet, she had found no way to unleash it. Countless times she had forced herself into unsafe conditions to try, but every time she failed.

Then there was the issue of academies. Atlas Military Academy was the place to go in her native Atlas, so why was she being shipped off to Beacon?

Except she knew why. To hide her from the public eye, so her father didn't have to be ashamed of his semblance-less daughter pursuing what he felt was an unworthy profession. She would have been angry if she wasn't so tired after her long trip. This was the last train, after all; last stop, Beacon. All around her were other Hunters in training, or kids like herself who were about to be. And yet...

She was completely, utterly, alone.

Until she sat down.

"Is it alright if I sit here?" The girl asked in a soft voice, already having seated herself.

Zelda nodded, starstruck. She was beautiful, with red hair and red lips bringing out the warmth in her dark skin. Silver jewelry covered her neck and wrists, delicate bands wrapped around her braids, too.

"My name is Mipha." She introduced herself with a kind smile. "I'll be a first year. What about you?"

"I'm going to be a first year as well. My name is Zelda."

"A pleasure to meet you." Mipha smiled wider, holding out her hand to shake. "This has all happened so quickly, I can't believe we're really here."

She took the hand. "I feel the same. It's... Nerve-wracking."

"I know how you feel."

"Well..." Zelda swallowed, trying to look away from her beautiful face. "That's quite the weapon you have there."

Mipha's face broke into a grin. "Thank you. I'm quite pleased with my trident; I modified it myself, actually. I call her Lightscale. What about your own weapon?"

Zelda laid her rapier on the table. "Standard Atlas military gear... With a few added twists."

"Atlas?" Her eyes widened. "So you're not from here either?"

She shook her head.

Mipha's shoulders relaxed, an easy smile on her full lips. "I'm from Mistral, myself."

"Mistral? Why are you going to Beacon, then?"

"Well... I wanted to travel." She admitted, blushing a little bit. "To see more of the world than I already have. What about you?"

Zelda cursed herself for inviting this question, but felt strangely at ease with telling the truth; perhaps it was the sleep deprivation, perhaps it was the warmth in her amber eyes. "Well... My father, mostly. He's embarrassed by me, I think."

"Why would he be embarrassed by you? You seem quite remarkable."

She blushed. "Well... I haven't been able to activate my semblance yet."

"That's nothing to be ashamed of." She shook her head, the jewelry in her braids tinkling together like a wind chime. "You'll unlock it eventually, I'm sure. Not everyone learns what theirs is at a young age."

"Did you?"

"Well..." Mipha sighed. "Yes, but only in a grave circumstance. My brother almost drowned, you see. I dove in to save him, but... It seemed like it was too late. In desperation I yelled his name, put my hands on him, and... He was healed."

Zelda let out a sigh of relief. "Well, I'm glad that he was okay. You're a healer, then?"

She nodded. "But I figured that, among Hunters, that power must be rare. And they need them the most."

"That's so noble."

"Maybe."

The train lurched to a halt, knocking them into the table and backwards into their seats.

"See you later, then?"

"See you later."

***

Of all the things Zelda knew she could do, land safely after being launched off a spring-loaded platform was not one of them. But this was how teams were going to be chosen: the first person she saw down there, in the woods, would become her partner. Together they would have to find a relic, and bring it back to where it belonged. After that, they would be joined to another group, and they would become a team for the next four years. 

Though Mipha's launch platform was next to her's, she seriously doubted they would end up together. After what she had told her... No one would want her as a partner. In this game, having a semblance was everything. 

And she had nothing.

Then she was weightless, her stomach dropping, the ground ridiculously small beneath her. She had been so preoccupied, she had missed the countdown.

Damn it. 

There was nothing she could do with her rapier, and she was falling to the ground fast. Maybe, if she hit that tree right, her aura would protect her...

As she repositioned, trying to align herself right, she saw a blur of brown and red movement. Mipha, of course. If she fell wrong she could just heal herself, after all. At the speed she was plummeting... She's probably need to.  
Then she started moving forward, through the trees. They were getting closer and closer to the same spot-

Zelda leaned to try to avoid the collision-

And Mipha caught her in ready, outstretched arms. "You know, it almost looked like you were trying to avoid me."

She turned bright red. "Well, I- I didn't realize you were trying to be my partner."

"I hope you don't mind." She set her down gently on the ground. "You're the only person I know here."

"It doesn't matter I have no semblance?"

"You do." Mipha assured her. "You just haven't found it, yet. I'm sure it'll come to you."

She looked down to hide her face. "Thank you."

"Now come on; we've got a relic to find."

Zelda blushed redder than Mipha's hair as she followed after, trying to hide how she felt. This girl was amazing and beautiful, and they were going to be sharing a room for the next four years. 

How was she going to survive?

***

"Are you kidding?" Mipha's eyes were wide. "With your swordsmanship, you could never be dead weight on a team."

"Shh!" Zelda pressed a finger to her lips. "They're announcing teams!"

"Oh." She turned her face away, trying to hide in her braids. "Sorry."

Zelda was so distracted by how cute she was when she was embarrassed, she missed the first two teams being announced. 

"Alright, Revali Gale and Link Wilde, paired with Mipha Dorephan and lead by Zelda Hyrule!"

"And being team leader?" Her eyes were wide as she stood up, joining the others in the group.

"I think you're perfect." Mipha said. "For the job! I meant for the job."

Zelda blushed bright red. This was certainly going to be an interesting four years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Supertinywords and Supertinydom on Tumblr! That's me!
> 
> Requests are open!
> 
> Comments are love <3


	20. Paya/Loone - Guardians

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link pointed Loone in the direction of Kakariko Village to learn more about Guardians from the Sheikah there...
> 
> And that's where she met Paya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested by Sphye! It was like, really fun. I loved the idea!

It just started out with Loone wanting to know more. She had searched the dead guardian near her, taking it apart as much as she could, but it still didn't make sense. The pieces weren't corroded, but they were too broken to fully put together. And living guardians were more dangerous...

That's how she found herself making her way up to Kakariko Village, home of the Sheikah. That's what Link, the nice boy who showed her the guardians, told her. The Sheikah were the ones who made the guardians in the first place, so maybe, just maybe, she would be able to get more information from them.

At any rate, she was getting closer. The paths were a little more clear now, signs and travelers both pointing her in the right direction... Even if it did take all of her willpower to not drop every rupee she had on guardian parts from a merchant. Teli may have been persuasive, but she already had enough. What she really needed was someone to explain it all to her.

Tomorrow, she'd get there. Tomorrow.

***

The town was enchanting. It had been so long since Loone was in real civilization it almost made her stop dead in her tracks, an overwhelming feeling sweeping over her. For some reason, Kakariko Village felt like home. Maybe that was a good sign. She decided to take it as one.

Glancing around, she searched for the biggest house. That's what Link had told her: the biggest house with the huge steps on the way up, flanked by two guards. What was she supposed to tell them again?

"Hi! I'm Loone." She grinned, holding out a hand to shake. "Link sent me to talk to Impa about the guardians?"

The guard eyes her warily, but slowly released the hilt of his sword. "Alright, you may enter. Treat Lady Impa with respect."

Loone nodded, and started up the stairs. Her heart was pounding. Was she really going to get to learn about-

"Ahh!"

She scrambled away, startled by another girl with had been at the top of the steps. The other girl fell backwards onto her butt, shoulders raised and tense.

"Oh, I'm, uh, I'm sorry." The girl pulled herself quickly to her feet, bowing a greeting. "You s-scared me a little bit th-there. I wasn't expecting anyone."

Loone may not have been starstruck walking into the village, but she was looking at this girl. Her face was round and gentle, every single feature looked soft. Her brows were stark white, like her hair, and raised in shock. The deep brown of her doe-like eyes was enchanting. Her nose was broad, flushed a peachy pink just like her little cheeks. But her lips... Her lips were full, parted just a little bit, a perfect little 'oh' of surprise.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry." She finally snapped out of it. "You're very pretty, are you Impa?

She blushed bright red. "I- Thank- So are- I'm Paya! Impa is my Grandmother."

"Paya. That's a cute name."

Paya blushed even darker. "Are you, umm... You're here to talk to my- to- Lady Impa, then?"

She nodded. 

"Alright, she's just in here, then..." Stepping forward, Paya gently pushed open one of the doors, holding it open for her. "You can- just- you go ahead."

Loone smiled as she moved past her, into the Room. Across from her, in a large traditional hat, sitting on a pillow, was a very old lady. There wasn't an unwrinkled patch anywhere to be found on her face. The skin on her hands seemed paper thin, showing every vein as she came closer.

"Lady Impa," She remembered that the guard called her that, and told her to pay respect. "Link sent me here to learn about guardians."

"Guardians, mm?" Impa sighed, shaking her head. "I'm not the best person you could ask, but-"

Loone's shoulders slumped, her heart feeling a little weighed down.

"Don't get disappointed yet!" She demanded, pointing a bony finger forward. "As I was saying, I taught Paya a great deal about the things. She would be better assistance than I would be, with how my eyes are becoming these days."

Her head spun. Paya. The cute girl from outside? She got to talk to her? Wait, why was she here in the first place?

Guardians. That was why. But instead of gears and springs and glowing cores, when she closed her eyes she saw the sweep of Paya's eyelashes against her round cheeks.

"Paya! I met here outside." Loone said, jumping back to reality. "Thank you, for pointing me in the right direction."

Impa laughed. "You are welcome, child. Tell me, what is your name?"

"Loone." She answered. "Like the bird, but with an 'e' at the end."

"Loone..." Impa pondered that for a moment. "How fitting. I can't make it up those stairs anymore, you may as well stay in my old bed up there."

She pointed up, towards the second floor. Two sets of stairs wrapped around the room, heading up there.

"Thank you! That's very kind."

"Take your time settling in." She smiled warmly. "There's no rush."

***

Paya blushed and sputtered when she told her what her Grandmother had said. "But surely- really- she didn't- how did-"

"She said you're the expert." Loone stated with a shrug. "So... Where can we start?"

"Well..." She seemed to have calmed down a little, but only barely. "Do you have any guardian parts?"

Loone laughed, reaching over and grabbing her bag. "Oh yes, I do."

Carefully, she laid out all of the pieces she had collected over the past months of her obsession. They were pretty, glinting on the floor of the upstairs room, but...

Even as Paya started talking about them, Loone found her eyes on her, not the parts. It was irritating; why couldn't she focus? Instead, her eyes were glued to the interesting way she did her white hair, the way it puffed out around her shoulder blades...

"These two pieces would fit together like this, see?" Paya held up a couple of gears, fitting them together. "Then we would, ah, n-need another piece to go here, then another gear..."

"Would this one work?"

"Yes, it... I think it would. Thank you." She reached forward to take the gear, and-

Their hands brushed. Paya's fingers were warm and soft, but the kind of soft that came with having just been cleaning, like all of the dead cells had been scrubbed off. Immediately, they both pulled back, blushing bright red.

"S-so..." Paya swallowed. "This would wor- it would fit right here, th-then the spring..."

With deft fingers, she continued working her magic on the pieces. Gears and springs came together, finally...

"This is one unit." She declared, holding up a compact ball of gears, springs, and shafts. "It would fit next to a core, like this, see?"

Loone only had one core, but it really did fit right there, perfect. It was incredible, watching how her eyes looked when she was focused...

"More units would fit around it, then that would m-make a f-f-f..." Paya paused, taking a deep breath. "Set. A full set. That would go around a giant ancient core."

"That's amazing... Thank you."

She smiled. "I never get a chance to talk about them... It's kind of fun."

"I'd love to hear more, if you have more to tell."

"I don't know..." Paya turned her face away. "There's a lot to know, but we might have to go out and find a deceased guardian."

"I would listen to you forever." Loone blurted, then covered her mouth. "I mean... I think you're really cute."

She blushed bright red, and covered her face with her hands. "You're- thank- I think- you're really cute too!"

"You think so?"

Paya nodded, face still covered. 

"Then... Can we make going out to search for guardian parts a date?"

She thought about that, brows drawn together, dropping her hands. "I think so... Especially if we bring food."

"Make it a picnic?"

"Y-yeah." Paya smiled. "I'd like that a lot."

And Loone had to look away because she was blushing too hard looking at this pretty girl. The prospect of taking apart a guardian should have been more interesting to her right now, but... She mostly just wanted to spend time with Paya.

Downstairs, she thought she could hear Impa laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Supertinywords and Supertinydom are the places where you can find me on Tumblr!
> 
> Requests are open!
> 
> Comments are love <3


	21. Zelda's Mom/Urbosa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Urbosa never fell in love after Queen Zelda died; she knew that she was waiting for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is also loosely based on Sphye's request for 'something with Urbosa' it was fun! I liked doing this.

When Queen Zelda died, Urbosa knew with certainty that she would never fall in love again.

At first, when she heard that she was sick, she got to Hyrule Castle as fast as she could. Her steward was a good vai, she could trust her in charge. Right now, her love needed her.  
But when she got there, Zelda was pale in bed. Her long blonde hair looked limp and stringy around her head, normally flushed cheeks pale and sweaty. Her eyes, always wide and bright, were closed, eyelids fluttering a little bit as she dreamed. Open just ever so slightly, her lips looked dull and lifeless. 

The sight immediately brought tears to Urbosa's eyes when she walked in. How? How had this happened to her Queen, to the most vibrant woman she had ever met? She wanted to believe in the best, but... Shaking that thought out of her head, hhe stepped forward, held her hand, and replaced the cold cloth on her brow. 

Deep inside she knew that she was dying, but fought against that knowledge. Urbosa did everything she could to make her get better, to care for her... For moments she would be awake, but disoriented. Once she believed that they were back five years, before she was married to the king. Another time she asked Urbosa if she had met her daughter, cooing over what a tiny baby her Little Bird was.

Her Little Bird, in reality, was four years old. She was too young to really understand; she just wanted her mother to get up and play with her again. 

But Zelda never would. She died early in the morning, with Urbosa holding her close. It was hours before she would finally let her go, expressing her grief through tears and promises to look after her daughter. 

After the funeral, though... Times changed. Rhoam had always been an easygoing, soft man, but Zelda's death changed him. Suddenly he was strict, forcing Zelda to pray for hours on end, despite the fact that she couldn't possibly understand what it all meant.  
And Urbosa...

Urbosa found herself unwelcome in the royal household. Slowly but surely, she was forced back home to Gerudo Town. It was true that she needed to go back anyway, but she never wanted to leave her love's pride and joy, her Little Bird, there in that cold castle.  
She visited as often as she could, but... It wasn't nearly often enough. Not for a growing little girl who needed a parent, a mentor, not a king.

But it had been thirteen years since then. Her Little Bird wasn't so little anymore, possibly being taller than her mother had ever been. They looked so similar... It was almost painful.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. Calamity Ganon was here. It was time for the Champions to get to their divine beasts. And yet... She had the same sinking feeling in her chest, the one she got when she walked into that room for the first time, seeing Zelda laid out sick on the bed.  
It was a bad omen, yes, but not necessarily an inevitable one.

Then Thunderblight Ganon struck. The scary thing was that she had no clue how long the creature had been in her divine beast, how long it had lurked inside of Vah Naboris. She knew its name like she knew her own. In horror and anger she fought it, fighting it back, watching as it molded itself to match her. 

One by one, the hits became too deep. She slowed down. As the fight wore on, between the blood loss and the exhaustion in her bones, she started to falter.

Her knees collapsed beneath her, unable to support her weight. Black spots danced in her vision, slowly going completely dark.

As Urbosa died, her last though was that she would finally get to see Zelda once more.

***

But when she woke up, it wasn't in the afterlife. The world passed time just like it always had, the sandstorms stirred and died down, the waters flowed in the oasis of Gerudo Town, her sister took her place as chief. Urbosa was proud of her people, for moving on, for rebuilding. They lost too many good vai in the Calamity, but that didn't slow them down. No, they continued.  
It broke her heart to not be able to help, but just being there and watching over was all she could do. Girls prayed for her blessing before they went into battle, for her speed and skill to fill them with power.

While Urbosa couldn't actually grant them power, just that prayer was normally enough for them. 

Years and years passed along, until the goddess statue was moved to a back alley, and her name was more a legend than anything else. Older vai remembered their mothers telling them about their former chief, before her sister took over the throne for her. Girls still prayed to her for wisdom before battle, but more as a last resort than a preliminary blessing.

It felt like an eternity, trapped on the Divine Beast with her thoughts and daydreams. 

Zelda's face appeared to her in her dreams, dancing through the desert with her, barefoot in the warm sands. 

Her body was visible on the mannequins in the town, decked out in jewelry or clothes, reminding her of days spent laughing together in the marketplace, spoiling her with gifts.

Her eyes glinted in that rare twilight glow, when the sky was almost green.

Everything around her was a reminder of Zelda, of her soft smile, of the defiant way she lifted her chin.

A hundred years had passed before Link arrived, saving Vah Naboris, giving her purpose once more. It was revenge against Calamity Ganon in so many ways she lost count. 

For taking the form of a Gerudo.

For killing her and her companions.

For trapping her daughter for a hundred years.

For forcing her Little Bird to grow up too soon.

When the time was finally right, when she fired, all of that dissipated. All of her anger was gone when the beast was finally sealed away, never to come back again... At least, not for a long time. 

And as Link and Zelda walked away from the castle, she could finally feel herself going to rest.

***

The light nearly blinded Urbosa when she opened her eyes. It was bright, glowing, the world a pure white. 

Then, suddenly, it was dark. The ground beneath her was warm sand, the kind that came with nighttime outside of Gerudo Town. Stars glittered overhead, the same familiar constellations.

"Well, you certainly kept me waiting." 

There she was. Zelda, laying beside her, a smile on her soft lips, a glint in her perfect eyes.

"I would have come sooner if I could have, you know."

"I know." Zelda's eyes fell shut, eyelashes full against her round cheeks; a tear slipped down her face. "I'm just glad you're here now."

"Shh," Urbosa brushed the tear away. "I'm here now."

"Finally." She smiled, a laugh getting caught in her throat. "Finally."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Supertinywords and Supertinydom, yeah, yeah...
> 
> Requests are open! Only a week more, and one day is already taken!
> 
> Comments are love <3


	22. Cotera/Brokka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cotera can't help but watch all of the travelers going by from a distance... Until Brokka comes right up to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this isn't very shippy, but it's what happened. Thank you, Sphye, for the request!

Cotera liked living this close to Kakariko Village. While her sisters were secluded, having been for a long, long time, she appreciated having the company. Besides, being able to pull herself out among the water a little bit and peer out at the travelers below...

She knew what her sisters would say. Being the youngest came with that feeling towards her, after all, that she wasn't mature enough. That she should maybe have a bit more discretion, a bit more subtlety when it came to her attraction... But, of course, when we're her sisters subtle when they thought someone was cute? Hell, Kaysa sometimes compliments how people smell. At least she doesn't do that...

And besides, most of the girls she sees never come far enough up. They used to, of course, but now it's mostly just Link who travels up. She doesn't mind him, pretends to flirt, but...

Down below is where her true affections lie. Though, there are so many women...

Brokka, with her shaggy mouse brown hair and determined look comes through often, searching for rare ore deposits so she can sell the valuable gemstones. Cotera would love to decorate her in sparking opals and emeralds to bring out the hazel colors of her eyes, to let her strip down and relax her weary body in her pool.

With her gentle manner and devout search, Celessa always takes Cotera's heart along with her when she travels through. Just the way her bangs fall in her eyes, dark brown hair sweeping over her face... The thigh high boots she wears drive Cotera crazy, just seeing that tint glimpse of soft, peachy thighs. Even though they were all tiny, she seemed especially like she could hold her in the palm of her hand...

Leekah, despite her moodiness and foul temper, was always so dreamy at heart. It was that unfocused stare, the adoring gaze she gave to the river that had Cotera sold, in love with her shaky hands and bony wrists. She reminded her of a deer: small and skittish, yet tender and magical all at the same time. 

Then there was Nat with her unbridled enthusiasm and passion for life, the shine in her brown eyes, the sweep of her hair over her shoulders...  
But then there was her sister Meghyn, too. A little more shy, more reserved with her sea green eyes and severe bangs. She always bit her lip in the cutest little way, and her brows upturned when she was nervous, which was most of the time, honestly. It was adorable, though, in a way.

And then there was-

Cotera's thoughts were interrupted when she saw Brokka speaking with Link down in the path through Kakariko. She was off her horse, having tied him to a fence with enough room to graze a little bit, deep in conversation about... Something. She could listen, but she was more focused on the way the sunlight brought out different colors in her hair.

Then Brokka looked up, towards the woods Cotera was concealed in. Of course, she couldn't see her; pulling herself out of her pool did nothing for her actual eyesight, it was all just magic that allowed her to look down at the town. But still, her heart was racing. Sure, it was unlikely she would come up here. Cotera hadn't actually talked to anyone but Link in a hundred years, and it didn't really seem like it was about to change now.

But she nodded, patted Link on the shoulder, and started towards the hill. Maybe she was just coming up here for the forest. Link may have just told her about the flowers, or the ore that was a little down the path, or she could be headed to the pass, but...  
Either way, Brokka had set her determination to the hill, hiking up quickly on strong legs. She was whistling a tune as she went, a pretty old one, since Cotera recognized it. Unable to help herself, she joined in with the words.

"Away, away  
My calling is away  
Spring up your roots and fly  
I shall not fall today."

Brokka didn't seem to have heard her, she just kept on with the verse.

"I cannot love you truly,  
I cannot love you fair-  
Staying here is a burden,  
That I simply cannot bare."

"Away, away  
My calling is away  
Spring up your roots and fly  
I shall not fall today."

She seemed to have picked up on something as she got a little closer, but it wasn't exactly the song, she didn't think; just that there was some sound, or some echo.

"If I come back tomorrow  
Maybe I'll hold you then-  
I'll find you in some meadow  
Or a soft, clear glen."

"Away, away  
My calling is away  
Spring up your roots, don't cry!  
I shall not die today."

Brokka's shoulders seemed relaxed, the calmest Cotera had ever seen her. There was something about the gentle pace she used now, wandering up to her. The song slowed down too, getting soft and tender.

"I cannot love you fairly,  
I cannot love you true!  
And yet, here here am I staring  
Whatever shall I do?"

"Away, away  
I don't want to go away  
Spring up your roots and follow  
I fell in love today."

Her eyes were closed, stepping forward into the woods with care, opening them only when her song was finished. The glow of the sun filtered through the leaves of the forest, making patterns on her skin and clothes. She was getting closer to the fountain now, turning her head and-

"Who-" Brokka stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide open. "You really are real."

Cotera smiled. "Well, I'm certainly not imaginary."

She laughed at that, stepping closer as if in a daze. "It's just that... I really didn't think Link was telling the truth, since he said the fountain was so close by... Surely I couldn't have just missed it before!"

"My flower wasn't open until Link came along, really." Cotera admitted. "Freedom is so much better than being trapped down there, I'll tell you."

"It was closed!?" Brokka was sitting down on the mushrooms Link usually came up to when he talked to her. "But how did you fit?"

She shrugged. "The waters are deep."

"But how did you breathe?"

Cotera laughed, loud and hearty; making Brokka blush. "Being a fairy has many advantages. I don't need as much air as you do."

"Being a fairy..." She trailed off, a faint smile on her face. "What's your name, though? If I may ask."

"Cotera."

"Cotera..." The name was different, yet perfect on her tongue. "Are you the only one?"

"The only fairy?" She shook her head. "I have three sisters, of which I am the youngest."

"How interesting..." Brokka was still smiling, just a little bit. "Are they as beautiful as you?"

Cotera couldn't help the blood that rushed to her face, instantly blushing bright red. "Well, they're all different, but... Yes."

"I don't think that's possible." 

"Why not?"

She shrugged. "I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you. Of anything, for that matter, and I'm a gem hunter. That's what I do for a living."

"You're very sweet."

"Oh! I haven't told you my name!" She sprung to her feet, offering a ha d to shake. "I'm Brokka."

"Brokka." Cotera wondered if she had ever said her name out loud before; she offered a single finger to the handshake. "So, you're a traveler?"

Brokka nodded.

"Come, sit at the edge of the water and take off your boots." She urged her, scooting back a little bit. "The water is warm and will sooth your weary feet."

Blushing, she complied, leaving her boots further back on the mushroom. "Are you always here?"

Cotera nodded. "Always."

"Then... Can I come visit you?" Brokka looked up into her eyes, and she had never looked so tiny. "You're very kind."

"Of course, darling. Of course."

"Is it lonely here?" She sighed, lowering her feet into the water. "It's so beautiful, but... There's no one around, really."

"It does get lonely, I'll admit." Cotera leaned back, elbow resting on the edge of the flower. "But not with you around."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requests are open!
> 
> Comments are love <3


	23. Rhondson/Ruli

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhondson moved to Tarrey Town to find work and to find love, and she's found both quite easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by XmarkZX!

Ruli really thought that the move to Tarrey Town would be good for her marriage... Apparently not. Traveling had saved her daughter, sure, but her husband left not long after they settled down there. It wasn't the right fit, she guessed. They had gotten married when they were young and reckless, and...

It surprised her that she didn't really feel any kind of way about it. Here was this person she had lived with for close to ten years of her life, and, well... Nothing. The one thing she was worried about, their daughter, turned out to not be an issue at all. He promised to still come and be with her as often as his new job allowed him, and to take her on trips with him when she was well enough. Honestly, well...

That's all she could ask.

Tarrey Town was a quaint, quiet place with a good charm and an elderly population. Peaceful was a good word for it. Relaxing.

But at the same time...

Most of the people who lived here were fine. Nice old couples, strange salespeople, weird travelers... They were all nice enough. Good neighbors. But, of course, someone had to catch her eye.

At first, she didn't even know her name; she only knew her as the tailor, and she was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Long red hair trailed behind her, shoulders well muscled, back toned, hips swaying as she walked away. That was the first glimpse she caught of her, and it changed her life. 

Ruli's first thought was how shiny her skin looked, practically glowing. The second was how little clothing she wore, and how she did not mind that at all. 

And the third was something she couldn't confess to, being a woman with a husband already. But she could think those thoughts quietly to herself, watching the beautiful tailor with her full lips and bold brows...

But now, with Hagie gone?

No, she couldn't pursue her... She could only watch, sighing as she swept, watching with longing eyes as she tended the garden.

***

Rhondson liked Tarrey Town a fair amount more than she thought, actually. There was plenty of work to do, what with the workers and elderly folks who couldn't mend their own clothing anymore, not to mention the occasional rambunctious child who kept tearing through her pants pockets. It was nice. Sure, she hadn't found love, or someone to settle down with, but...

Actually, part of the was a lie. Finding love had been as simple as working there a couple of weeks, helping people move in. A family had come fairly early on. A man named Hagie, who insisted he didn't need help moving the boxes of their things, a sick little girl named Hunnie, and... Ruli.

Ruli was Hagie's wife. That, by all meanings, should have driven her away, but... It didn't. She was a little older, but not much; her face seemed lined with stress more than age. There was a certain grace and poise about her, even as she moved in. Her brown hair was parted down the middle, fluffing up into waves that perfectly framed her defined face. Warm brown eyes looked on everything as if it was new, and slightly wonderful. A smile tugged at her full lips.

But still, she looked nervous. Most likely for the child she struggled to hold in her arms. Rhondson wanted nothing less than to make her happy, to put a smile on her face, to brush a lock of soft brown hair out of her eyes...

But she was a married vai. That would be entirely inappropriate, to be thinking like that. She couldn't believe she allowed herself to be caught up in, well, all of that.

But now? Ruli was out tending to the garden, Hunnie playing wth one of the stray dogs that seemed to have shown up overnight. Rhondson hadn't seen Hagie around in, well... A long time.

Now was her chance.

Practically holding her breath, she came over and joined Ruli at the flower beds. "Weeding?"

"It has to be done." She said with a sigh, pulling out a group of small leaves. "These little ones crop up like nothing else. Do you know what they are?"

"Not really, no." Rhondson shook her head. "I haven't really lived here long."

Ruli's cheeks developed two hard spots of color. "I forgot that, you must have moved from very far away."

She shrugged. "It was far, but... I like it up here. The warmth without it being too hot, mild winters... It's pleasant."

"It really is." Ruli agreed. "It's done wonders for my little girl, too."

"She has gotten a lot better, hasn't she?"

"Oh, she really has." She smiled, pulling out more weeds. "Ever since that traveler... She's been like a different person. If I may ask, though... What brought you up here?"

Rhondson shrugged. "A traveler came and told me a voe was looking for a tailor up here; but he only needed one who's name ended in 'son.' I fit the description, so I went. But, also..."

"Also what?"

"I suppose I was looking for love." She could feel her cheeks heating up. "I've always been a bit of a romantic, but I've never felt particularly drawn to voe, you know?"

"Voe?" She tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Oh, sorry." Rhondson felt a little silly. "Men."

"Ahh, me neither." Ruli chuckled. "Hagie and I were married when we were young, and... I really only just wanted to stay together for Hunnie, you know?"

"I'm sorry it's like that."

"Oh, don't worry a thing about it." She shook her head, yanking out a few more roots. "I didn't love him much, and he knew that. He left, a couple months ago. Found work somewhere else. He'll visit Hunnie as much as he can, though."

"Well, that's... An interesting situation to be in." Rhondson supposed. "Are you happier?"

"Much." She smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling. "I feel free now."

So do I, Rhondson didn't say. "That's certainly a whole lot better than before, then."

"It really is." Ruli breathed. "Say, why don't you come over for tea, sometime? My daughter adores you."

She laughed. "Hunnie? Adores me?"

"She talks about you all the time. You're one of the few people who actually makes the time to talk to her. It's... It's very sweet of you."

Rhondson blushed. "Well, I- I'd be delighted."

And if one afternoon tea turned into more, Rhondson wasn't about to complain. Because soon she was staying for dinner, helping with the gardening, mending the torn knees of Hunnie's pants without charge...

And when Ruli first kissed her, she saw stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requests are open, but I'm down to three slots! (Maybe only two...)
> 
> Comments are love <3


	24. Zelda/Kaysa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Link is busy elsewhere, Zelda heads up to the Great Fairy Fountain to check it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by Sphye, again! I also love the great fairies, it seems.

Zelda pulled her snowquill coat a little tighter around herself, trying to protect against the harsh Tabantha winds. They were right in the middle of their winter season right now which, of course, meant that she and Link had to be staying in Rito Village. Of course.

But, if he was correct about the location...

The Great Fairies were never something she had gotten the opportunity to look into a hundred years ago, and she wanted to make up for that lost time now. So, while Link was busy off fighting a Talus with Revali, she set out for the secluded Great Fairy's spring. It should just be at the top of these cliffs here... But it was quite high, and heights were not her thing. Carefully, pressed against the opposite wall, she shuffled along, ignoring how far down it was the the bottom.

Then she saw it, and all thoughts of heights and falling were banished from her head.

The first thing that struck her was the tree. A strong apple tree was growing near the edge of the cliff, limbs dangling in the free air, looking stark and bare without its leaves. The strange thing was how different it was from the area's natural flora, consistent with other accounts of great fairy spings. Then there were a few clusters of luminous stone, glowing in the false nighttime caused by the crazy weather from being so far north.

The spring itself was more than she could have imagined.

The flower itself was massive. It's golden orange color was beautiful, matching the mighty thistles peeping up through the snow. Speaking of which, all of the snow around the flower itself seemed to have melted all of its own; probably by magic. A trail of mushrooms formed a way up to the center, where a deep pool of clear water reflected the gray sky perfectly, rimmed with what looked like small pink stones, but could have Ben seeds.

Taking a deep breath, and tugging at her coat once more, Zelda stepped forward. When she reached the mushrooms she took off her snowshoes, leaving them on top of one of the massive petals. The contour of the flower would keep them from flying away in the wind.  
Now, onward. She reached the top of the stack, stood there, and...

Nothing, just the wind rustling her hair, seeming into whisper in her ears.

Then, suddenly, everything. With a musical laugh and a splashing of color, the great fairy sprung out from the depths of her waters. Her skin was a rich, dark brown, contrasting the light pink she wore on her body and her hair. Rubies inlaid in gold glinted against her body.

"My, my, my." She smiled, pretty red lips drawn up at the edges. "I thought I smelled beauty coming my way. What can I do for you?"

Zelda was sure she blushed brighter red than her lips. "Well, I- you see, I... I just came up here to investigate."

"To investigate?" The fairy noted that with a little nod, then her eyes widened. "You must be Zelda!"

She nodded. "Indeed, I am."

"A pleasure to meet you, beautiful princess." Smiling wide, she leaned forward a little bit. "I am Kaysa."

"W-well, Kasysa..."

"Are you cold?" Her eyes widened. "Here, let me..."

Kaysa kissed the tip of her finger, then gently bopped Zelda's nose with it. Instantly, she felt warm all over.

"Without the proper ingredients that will only be temporary, but I do hope it makes you more comfortable." She smiled. "I don't like watching pretty girls have to shiver in the cold."

"F-forgive me, I'm just a bit... Stunned." Zelda swallowed. "I had heard about you, but never imagined you'd be so..."

"Big?"

"Beautiful." She finished. "That too, though. I must admit I feel a little outside my depth."

"Please, don't feel that way. Here, you said you came to investigate?"

Zelda nodded. 

Kaysa smiled, a glint in her eye. "Would you like to go beneath?"

"Into the water?" Her eyes widened. "I'm afraid I can't swim very well-"

"I'll help you; there's nothing to worry about. And it's easy to allow you to temporarily breathe underwater."

"In which case, I should probably get out of all of these layers, shouldn't ?" Zelda asked, starting to undo the fastenings. "The water is warm... Right?"

Kaysa laughed, and it was magical and beautiful, warming her from within. "It's quite warm in here, you'll find. A comfortable bath temperature is what people have described it as before."

Feeling a little bashful, Zelda started to strip off her warm snowquill clothes, leaving them with her snowshoes. The cold and the wind had her shivering before, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins, and the presence of a beautiful fairy watching her, kept her from feeling the worst of the temperature. In no time she was stripped down to her underwear, standing at the very edge of the pool.

"And I should just... Jump in?" 

Kaysa nodded. "You won't sink lower unless you dive, darling."

"And you'll help me breathe?"

She nodded again.

And Zelda dove down into the water.

At first, her vision was blurry. It was dark down here, the water stinging her eyes, the pressure making her lungs feel strange. Then, slowly, she adjusted. Bioluminescent shapes started to form far, far below, and beside her...

Zelda jolted back for a moment, before she realized what it was beside her. Kaysa hadn't yet dove beneath the surface, and that large formation, covered in glinting scales, was her tail. A long way down, so far Zelda wondered if she could ever make it that far, was the end of it, fanning out in thin wisps like some tropical fish.  
Then Kaysa joined her under the water, kissing her finger and tapping her, like before. Instantly, her lungs stopped burning. Her vision cleared entirely.

She and Kaysa were face to face now, and everything seemed to slow down. Zelda could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and not from lack of oxygen. Her face was heating up.  
In front of her, Kaysa seemed perfect. Her light pink hair swirled around her face, gently curling around her ears and neck, waving around her shoulders. Underwater like this her eyes seemed to glow, her whole body shimmering with unknown light.

"Do you want to go deeper?" She asked, a soft smile on her lips.

Zelda nodded, and down they went. She never felt the ear-splitting pain of the water pressure, and her lungs didn't beg for air... And all her mind was consumed by the beautiful fairy beside her.

***

"Thank you, for... All of that." Zelda said when they were nearing the surface, staring up at how the light hit the water. 

She had discovered a little way down that she could speak at a normal volume, as if she wasn't underwater at all. Silently, she swore she would come back with some sort of container to collect the 'water,' if she could. Or maybe she should just ask.

"You are very welcome, beautiful Zelda." Kaysa smiled, pushing some of her wild hair out of her face. "You'll come back soon, yes?"

"If I can." She promised, letting out a sigh. "This has been one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen..."

"I'm glad to have shared it with you."

They kicked up to the surface, and the first thing that hit Zelda was the cold. She didn't want to climb out of the water... Regardless, she did. Kaysa broke the surface soon after she reached the edge of the pool.

"Oh, dear. Once you've climbed out, I'll dry you off."

True to her word, the moment Zelda climbed up out of the water, Kaysa pressed a kiss to her forehead, drying her off instantly. And nearly making her faint.

"And here..." With one hand she gently gathered up Zelda's clothes, with the other she shielded her from the wind. "That should keep you a tad warmer. I don't want a pretty little thing like you getting sick."

Zelda blushed. "Thank you, that's very kind."

She dressed quickly as she could, grateful that Kaysa drying her off had included her hair and her underwear. If those had still been wet... That would have been hard to deal with. And cold. Very, very cold.  
Once she was dressed, Kaysa touched the tip of her nose again, warming her right up.

"Now, is it light enough for you to make your way back?" She asked, looking out at the silhouette of the Rito Village pillar against the sunset. "No, let's see now..."

Leaning a little way outside of her flower, Kaysa tapped one of the chunks of luminous stone ore. Even from just that little tap, it broke into a bunch of little pieces. She grabbed one, and handed it to Zelda.

"That should shed enough light to let you get back... You will come back, though?"

"Of course." Zelda took the luminous stone, surprised by the warmth of it. "Did you...?"

"Warm the stone?" Kaysa winked. "I couldn't let your cute little fingers get cold."

And while she made her way back to Rito Village, she knew she would be back as soon as possible for more... Research. Definitely for research. 

And not at all just to see Kaysa again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requests are closed!
> 
> Comments are love <3


	25. Zelpha - Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Zelda is working too hard, or too late in the night, Mipha is always there to remind her to go to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday Zzariyo and Ash! I love you both so much, this is for you <3

"You know, Zel, working this late is bad for your eyes." Mipha chided, coming up behind Zelda and rubbing circles in her back. "You should probably head for bed."

She shook her head. "I have to finish this page, at least. I'll lose my place if I don't."

"You've barely started it."

"Yes, but I have the idea." Zelda huffed, beginning to sketch out the start of a flower. "And what if I lose the idea of how it should be in the morning? The herb will be wilted by then."

"I'm sure it would come back to you." Mipha pulled her hair back, over her shoulders. 

Touching her hair always made Zelda sleepy, after all. Whenever she played with it it seemed her girlfriend was out in mere minutes.

"Well, I'm not so sure." She argued, continuing to sketch. "And I've already begun drawing."

"Just that one flower then, okay? You know that you need sleep."

"Not as much as I would like to finish this."

Mipha sighed, continuing to work her fingers through Zelda's hair. "You know, that's not very healthy."

"Yes, I know."

"And it would be a lot healthier to get a good amount of sleep and finish it in the morning, when you're not only drawing by candlelight."

"I'm not only drawing by candlelight." She argued, gesturing up at the open window. "A little bit of moonlight is coming through, too."

"Oh, a little bit of moonlight. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Are you laughing at me?"

"A little bit." Mipha leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "I don't think the moon is making and difference right now, love."

Zelda just shrugged and kept drawing. 

"If anything," she continued. "That should be reason to go to bed: the moon is high enough to be giving light."

"More the reason to keep going: the moon is giving me her light so I can finish this." Zelda argued. "I'll go to bed once I'm done though, alright?"

"Alright..." Mipha sighed in defeat, going to their bedroom.

She came back to her place behind Zelda with a brush, and very gently, she started to work through her hair, starting at the tips and working her way up. It got so tangled, during the day, since the hairs themselves were so small and fine. That's what Zelda said, anyway. Mipha didn't know the least bit about Hylian hair, other than how it felt and approximately the things someone could do with it. Still, an occasional traveler could always surprise her by having very interestingly done hair.  
Even if she didn't know a whole lot about it... It was nice. Just standing here peacefully, with only the candlelight giving the room a warm glow, playing with Zelda's hair. It reminded her of early mornings before she woke up, or late nights after Zelda had already fallen asleep. Hopefully the association of her playing with her hair with sleep would be enough to get Zelda to take a rest, for once.

At the very least, though, she seemed relaxed. That was a good thing.

Ever since they had gone into Hyrule castle, she had been like this. Finding her old notes had been amazing for her, but many pages of the scientific journals have been torn or stained or ruined over the years in various ways. A whole edge had been waterlogged when they found it, and they weren't sure from what.  
So Zelda had been working to restore the parts of the journal that could be saved, and replacing the parts that couldn't. For some it was a relief to her to fix them because she had done the page when she was young, or a fact was incorrect, but most of it was long, tedious work that took hours with a dip pen and an inkwell.

"You know, Zel," Mipha spoke softly as she worked with the brush. "It's alright to take a break."

"I know." She answered quickly, carefully drawing a long flower petal. "It's not like anyone is making me do this, or anything."

"Exactly, no one is making you do this." 

"But that doesn't mean I don't have to." Zelda added. "There are people waiting for me to finish this."

"You don't have to do anything." Mipha reminded, moving on to a different section of hair. "There is no time limit on finishing it."

"I want to finish it quickly. It's satisfying."

"Zelda, it's not healthy."

"Just this flower." She assured again, though this time, with a yawn. "Then I'll be done, alright?"

"Alright." Mipha agreed, continuing to brush her hair. 

By now she had made her way all the way up to the base of Zelda's scalp, and her brush caught on the braid wrapped around her crown. Carefully, without disturbing her, Mipha started to undo the braid and brush through that hair too, separating all of the strands. That made her previously separated sections uneven, so she reworked them so they were even.

Zelda yawned again, still drawing individual petals on flowers. As she continued to work, she could recognize it as a fully bloomed Hurule herb, same as the one resting next to her on the desk.

Mipha was up to working on her actual scalp now, gently pulling the brush from there, down all of the hair she had already brushed. 

Zelda practically moaned at that, the tension falling from her shoulders. While the braid she regularly wore was good for keeping her hair back, and it was adorable, the way it sat on her head made her scalp a little bit sore and itchy by the end of the day.  
"Good?"

She nodded. "Thank you, Mipha."  
Leaning down she pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too."

So she continued, gently pulling the brush through until there was no longer anywhere it got snagged, and her hair shone like gold in the candlelight. It was hard to keep it all in it's sections, though, especially as she began to braid.  
Even by Hylian standards, Zelda had a lot of hair. Holding the sections in her hands was difficult, since it tended to be so much and so slippery of hair, but Mipha had experience. Slowly, and as neatly as she could, she pulled it back into a long braid. That kept it mostly out of her face, after all, only the short pieces that came in front of her ears still hung free, and that only because they were too short to make it to the braid. It was a good way to sleep, with her hair back like this.  
Mipha took the string she had been using on the crown braid, as tied it around the bottom to hold the braid in place. Perfect.

"There you go, that should stay out of your face."

"Mm, thank you, Mipha." Zelda's voice was heavy with sleep; she yawned again. "I'm almost finished with this, it's just the little..." She yawned again. "Smaller buds I have to sketch, you see?"  
She gestured to the drawing itself, with its blank spots in the stem, and then to the herb she was using as reference for it.   
"That's perfect, love." My ohs kissed her again. "It looks amazing."

"It's alright, I suppose." Zelda shrugged. "It's not my best work. I'll have to revisit the shading after I finish those..."

"You can do the shading tomorrow, yes?" Mipha asked, starting to rub her shoulders. "That's something that's easier to revisit. And don't be so hard on yourself, it's amazing."

"I suppose you are right about the shading..." She yawned yet again. "I don't do my best sketching tired, and candlelight isn't quite enough for delicate work."

"I thought the moon was helping you too." Mipha teased, poking her cheek.

Zelda rolled her eyes. "You aren't going to let me live that down, are you?"

"I might... But not right now."

"Alright." She shook her head, then turned to kiss Mipha. "Just the last little buds now."

"Just the buds."

With a quick, steady hand and long strokes of the dark ink, the little flower buds started to take shape. Little spiky leaves and soft petals, all on the thick, woody stem. Even though the drawing was only ink on white paper, it seemed to come to life under her fingertips.

"There." Zelda declared, setting den her pen and putting the cork in the inkwell. "I still need to shade, and put the information in, but... What do you think?"

"It's perfect." Mipha kissed the top of her head. "Now, it's time for bed; I've been up too long too."

"That's not healthy." Zelda grinned, elbowing her a little bit as she pushed out of her chair. "Oh, I'm so stiff."

"Time to sleep for sure, then... As soon as you get out of those clothes."

She nodded in agreement, tugging off her boots and leaving them next to each other by the desk. Her belt followed, then her outer shirt...

"Are you just going to strip right here and leave your clothes on the floor?" Mipha asked, blushing.

She still blushed when Zelda undressed. Even though she knew every inch of her body, it was new and exciting and perfect every time.  
"Mm, I'll put them away in the morning." She decided, pulling off her pants. "Could you hand me that nightgown?"  
Mipha passed the nightgown. "You know, we don't always live here alone."

"Yes, yes." Zelda shrugged, then yawned. "This is technically Link's house... But, he's never here. And we've seen each other naked before."

"When did that happen?"

"Remember?" She grinned. "That time in the river, when we pushed Revali in?"

Mipha laughed. "I do remember that... I don't remember you being naked, though."

"I was in the water, mostly." Zelda explained, pulling the nightgown over her head. "Too insecure to really want my body on display."

"And now?"

"I trust you, Mipha." She said, pulling it down a little bit, over her bust. "And I don't care one bit about Link and Revali, I know their interests lie elsewhere. But... I think I would prefer to not swim naked in rivers when I don't know who could come by."

"How did that happen?" Mipha frowned, trying to remember. "Did Link start it?"

"I think it just escalated." Zelda shrugged. "Probably."  
"Probably." She agreed. "Come on now, blow out that candle."

"I won't be able to see to the bed that way, I'm carrying it over."

Mipha gave her a sly grin. "You don't think the moon will help you?"  
"Oh, shut up." She playfully batted at Mipha's arm. "Fine, I'll blow it out."

The room was instantly dark, with only very dim light coming in off the window, and the faint glow of Mipha's own bioluminescence. She could see just fine in the dark, her eyes made for diving deep in the water, but she knew Zelda could only really locate her.

"Alright now, this way..." She took Zelda's hand in hers and led them over to the bed, then scooted to her side, against the wall.

Zelda liked to be on the edge, so she could get up in the night if she needed to... Or if she had a nightmare. Those were fairly common, but getting less so. They were both healing.

She sighed as soon as she laid down. "I didn't think I was this tired until now."

Mipha laughed. "You've been yawning almost non-stop!"

"That's a relfex thing..." Zelda explained, settling under the covers. "It's not..."

In no time at all she was fast asleep, cureld up close to Mipha. In that moment she was struck by how much she loved Zelda. When she stays up too late, works too hard, pushes herself to the edge... None of that makes it any less. Without it, she just wouldn't be Zelda.  
And Mipha loved her, through and through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requests are closed!
> 
> Comments are love <3


	26. Ralera/Mubs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ralera is homesick, but mostly just missing Mubs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For XmarkZX!

Ralera really thought she would be happy in Hateno. She had moved there partially to chase a boy, but mostly just to get away and experience something new, to finally breathe a different kind of air and run with grass between her toes and find a new way of life... But it all started to come up empty.

To start, the boy she followed soon lost interest, and they broke it off. She didn't mind that so much, and they still lived together and worked together to make ends meet, but it lost the romantic feeling that she wanted it to have at first. Maybe that was her fault for having expectations like she did, but...   
Rhodes was a nice man, even if they didn't feel that way for each other. It wouldn't be an issue for her to live the rest of her life with him, technically, but...

Ralera was surprised to find how much she missed the sea. She missed running in the sand to Soka point, then swimming all the way back to shore. She missed climbing on the rocks near the Gogobi Ruins, staring at the broken tablet there... She missed going out fishing with her father, hauling in a good catch for their family, then selling the rest to the girl who ran the market.

Mubs.

She was surprised to find that she missed Mubs most of all. They had grown up together, best friends until their lives separated on their own. After Mub's parents passed away, she was left running the shop, and Ralera was helping her father fish most days, long hard days of work in the sun. Yet still, when they managed to get together, Mubs never minded the smell of fish on her. She never seemed to care about a thing that Ralera was concerned was bad, or unattractive; she just smiled and tenderly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I think you're perfect anyway." Mubs had said once, in the way her voice got so low when she made an attempt to be quiet...

It sent sparks up her spine even now, thinking about it. Imagining being back with Mubs, lying barefoot in the sand, letting the waves lap at their toes... Times were hard then, sure, but they were also good.

What she wouldn't give to go back to that. She never thought that she would get homesick, but that really is what this was. So in her spare time, instead of sitting up by the blue flame, she went down and sat on the beach, staring out into the surf.

***

Mubs was tired. Physically, sure. Waking up in the early morning hours to buy fish from the fishermen just as they got back hadn't been to easy on her, especially when she was up running the shop into the nighttime. The amount of actual sleep she got was dismal, and the quality of it was poor. Every time she closed her eyes she only saw one thing.  
But she really was more emotionally and mentally tired than all of that. Every day was the same, working day in and day out, selling to the same people, buying the same fish, haggling for the same prices... It all just got monotonous after a while. She had lived here all her life, and now that the only bright spot had left...

Okay, that wasn't true, but the sentiment was the same: Lurelin wasn't the same place without Ralera here to share it with. She missed staying up too late talking, her staying the night with her on her boat, cooking together... No matter what they were doing, it was special when they were doing it together. But...

There was no way she could leave. This job was her livelihood, and she didn't really have room to spare. Sure, that blonde traveler with the voracious appetite had bolstered her paycheck a little bit, but not enough for her to travel on it. No, she was stuck here in Lurelin, thinking about her love so far away.

Was she happy, she wondered, with that boy she wanted to be with? Maybe they were all settled down and married by now. She could be pregnant, even. It hadn't been long enough for her to have any actually born children, but still she wondered. Ralera had always bordered on pale before, had her tan completely abandoned her, without being in the sun all day every day? Maybe she wore dresses like they did up north, full things with so many layers and aprons and embroidery on the edges. Did she still wear her hair down, like she used to when she was free, or was it done up like she was fishing?

There were so many questions she could ask, but really only one that mattered: was she happy?

Mubs sighed, staring up at the mountains, wondering if she wondered about her.

***

Ralera had an idea. Carefully, in her best handwriting, she would write a letter to Mubs. She had never really written a letter before, which made it odd, but she didn't mind. Really, she just wanted to talk to her again. Even if it wasn't the same, writing the letter almost made it feel like that.

"Dearest Mubs,  
How are you? Still running that shop, I'm guessing. I hope this letter finds you well... I don't like the idea that you could be doing poorly. How is my family? Is my dad still griping that I'm so far away, and that I'll regret this decision to go away?  
Don't tell him, but... I think I am starting to regret it. Hateno really is very different, and I don't quite feel like I fit in. Rhodes and I broke it off after only a couple of weeks, but on good terms. We're friends still, thankfully. I live with him, and we work together, but not as a couple. It's nice, in some ways, but I must admit..."

She swallowed, tapping her pen absently against the paper. Was she going to admit how she really felt? What if Mubs thought she was flighty and fickle, when really it just took moving away to help her realize what she had been feeling all along?

Ralera took a deep breath, dipped her pen again, and continued.

"I've missed you terribly, everything seems to remind me of you. Whenever I'm out at the beach and the smell of fish blows in I'm reminded of spending time fishing with you. When I see rafts out on the ocean I remember that one time we went out to those rocks and stayed there half the day... I miss everything to do with you, and I know it sounds foolish, but... It took me moving away to realize how I really felt."

This was it. Ralera hesitated with her pen in the inkwell, procrastinating writing the actual words. What did she have to lose? If Mubs didn't feel the same, they were far away. But if she did, well... Her father wanted her to come back home anyway. It wasn't fair to Rhodes, but... He would understand.

"And I realized that it's you I love, not him. I always have, too. When we laid out on the beach at night, side by side, I always wanted to take your hand in mine. There was a part of me that, when our faces got close when see were out fishing, wanted to kiss you. I loved cutting your hair because I got to touch it, and now I wonder who does that job with me gone. I wonder how you sleep at night without us staying up to talk, first. I wonder about you all the time, no matter what I do."

Ralera blinked, looking down at the letter, and realized that every bit of it was true. There were parts she hadn't realized were true until now, but that didn't make them any less real.

"I really do believe that I love you. If you don't feel the same, I don't mind; just having you as a friend would be good enough. Either way, it's been far too long since we saw each other.

Love, Ralera."

***

Mubs couldn't wait. She and Ralera had been exchanging letters via the weird blonde traveler, who she learned was named Link, for months now. Finally, they were getting to see each other.

Ralera was coming home.

Her father had been elated, but not as happy as Mubs was. Not as happy as she was when she got that first letter than confessed how she felt about her. It felt like she was going to die of happiness. As quickly as she could after finishing the letter, which meant that night after work, she got out a lantern and started to write, telling her that she felt the same way.

But now, she was finally coming home. And as Mubs saw her, traveling with Link, in a strange Hateno dress with her hair tied up and her skin pale from being away from the sea, she ran. Down the dock and across the sand, sprinting to be with her again.

She was finally home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requests are closed!
> 
> Comments are love <3


	27. Mipha/Kodah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mipha comes back, and she's alive, and Kodah loves her. That's all that matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked this more than I thought and procrastinated A LOT

Mipha couldn't believe it as she walked back across the Great Zora Bridge, finally coming home. She was getting a second chance at this, a life that she never dreamed she would get. But now that the calamity was over...

Everything was familiar, but different in so many ways. Though it wasn't close to the time for New Years, flowers decorated all of the lampposts, woven into long chains that hung between them like Hylian solstice garlands. Loose petals that had fallen off scattered the bridge itself, wilting in the hot sun.

Zora's Domain shone in the distance, almost blinding as it reached midday. The reflective quality of the city may have been beautiful, but it wasn't the kindest on the eyes by day.

Here she was, complaining about the sun in her eyes. She was alive and breathing. Her heart was beating. She could feel the warmth on her skin, making her feel sleepy and contented. She was home.

As soon as that thought sprung into her head, tears welled up in her eyes. Home. Before this, before the goddess gave her a second life, she didn't think she would ever get to go home.

But as she put one foot in front of the other, she was getting closer. This bridge was still long, and she still wasn't very tall, but-

What was that?

The figure looked tiny in the distance, coming towards her, just a pink blot on the horizon, and yet... Instantly, she knew who it was.

Though Mipha's legs were tired and stiff from disuse, she began to pick up speed. It didn't make any sense, in her head. This pink Zora could be anyone from this far away, with the sun glinting off their silver jewelry, with the way they were rushing closer...  
Mipha knew in her heart, though. She knew that was Kodah.

Of all of her friends from before the calamity, she was ashamed to say that she missed Kodah the most. Though, it may not be the most accurate to just say friend...  
***  
It had been before she left for Hyrule castle, and something told them both that she wouldn't return for a long time, though neither of them knew how long it really would be.

"Mipha, there's... There's something I want tell you." Kodah had said, surprisingly bashful.

Usually, she was bold, never shying away from what she would say, even when they were young. It had led to some interesting scrapes, over the years. She had a knack for getting into trouble.

"What is it?"  
"Well..." She swallowed. "Do you remember that time when we all went up to sit on Shatterback Point and we watched the sunset?"

"That time when Gaddison jumped off?" Mipha asked, starting to chuckle a little bit. "I'm glad she was alright."

"Me too." Kodah breathed, then sucked in a deep breath. "But, I... When we were up there, before that happened, I wished that it had just been the two of us."

She blinked. "But..."

It hadn't even occurred to Mipha at the time that Kodah could feel the same way she did. That never crossed her mind, because it just didn't seem plausible. She had liked Link when they were kids, and she knew that she was in fact over that, but...  
"I think I'm in love with you!" She blurted in true Kodah fashion, with flashing eyes and a rise in her chest. "No, I know that I love you. I don't just think it."

Mipha blinked. "You..."

"And I understand, if you don't feel the same, since I know you love Linny..."

"Love Link?" Her eyes bulged in disbelief. "What made you think that?"

"You made him a tunic!"

"Because he's reckless!" Mipha pointed out. "It doesn't have one of my scales in it, Kodah. It's just armor."

"Then you... Don't love him?"

She shook her head. "I can't believe... Wait. You love me?"

Kodah turned bright red. "Yes?"

Mipha nearly fell over, head spinning. "I... I love you too."

There was a dead silence, just little puffs of breath and the sound of the river rushing underneath the Zora's Domain...  
Then, just like Kodah, she smashed her in a hug. "You have to come back safely then! I couldn't, no... You'll come back. I just know it."

Mipha had laughed, leaning up because even then Kodah had been taller than her, and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Don't worry. I will."

***

And now, she finally was. Without a doubt now, unless her eyes deceived her, it was Kodah. 

"Kodah!"

"Mipha?" She said her name through a smile, tears welling up in her eyes. "Is that really you?"

Mipha nodded, still breathing hard. "You've grown so much."

It was true; Kodah now looked like a fully grown adult. She'd be one hundred and thirty three, if Mipha was right. She always got her birthday confused with Gaddison's. Her face was more defined, the pinks of her skin seemed deeper, and she no longer wore pinkish lip tint like she used to. And yet, at the same time...  
It was unmistakably her. Only she held her shoulders like that, like she was excited about everything she saw in the world. Her eyes were still brighter than anything she had ever seen, always wide open like she couldn't see enough in the world. 

And Mipha realized, in that moment, not only did she love her, she was the most beautiful person she'd ever seen.

"And you look just the same as when you left." Kodah said, reaching down to touch her face. "Oh no, don't cry!"

"You're crying too." She pointed out, lifting her own hand to wipe away her tears. "It's okay, I... I'm here now."

"I love you."

"I love you too." Mipha fell forward into a hug, and Kodah squeezed her a little bit too hard just like she always did, like goodbyes were the hardest thing in the world. 

She wished their goodbyes had been more difficult. Mipha wasted literal years wishing that she had held Kodah a little tighter, that she had kissed her, that she had made a move earlier on so she wouldn't have to confess to her feelings in the night she left.  
Part of her wished that she had never left, that she had just loved Kodah then and there, but she knew that wouldn't work. She knew they would have all died that way.

Suddenly, she was aware of how small she was in Kodah's arms, the way she only came up to her armpit. In this time she had spent drowning her sorrows in tears, lamenting the people she had lost when they lost her, she had grown up. 

Then Mipha realized that she had too, just in a different way. It was... Odd. In some ways she felt totally different, and in others it was like she was just the same little girl who died fighting that monster.

Kodah laughed. "Of course you came back."

"What?"

"You promised." She whispered, holding her tighter, until her jewelry dug into her skin. "You promised that you would come back, and... You did."

"I didn't think I could keep that promise." Mipha admitted, burying her face deeper in Kodah's chest. "I thought that I had left you forever, and when I woke up I was afraid that..."

"That I had moved on?" Kodah pulled back, just enough that they could meet eyes. "With who?"

"True."

"You've only ever been the one for me, Princess."

Mipha blushed; she always did when she called her princess. "What about that time with Link?"

Kodah turned bright red, darker than her color of pink. "That was just childish admiration; it wasn't love."

"Than you love me?"

"I love you." Kodah pressed a kiss to her temple, then another between her eyes. "I love you so much, Mipha."

"I love you too." She breathed, giggling when Kodah continued to pepper her cheeks with kisses. "I love you."

"Not as much as I love you."

Then she kissed her, square on the lips, and Mipha nearly melted into her arms. It was deep and sincere, full of all the passion they had built up over the hundred years without each other. It was the kiss she always wanted, but never thought she'd have.

So she kissed her again. 

And again.

And again until it probably wasn't decent, and they were laughing as their mouths made odd noises and their teeth clacked together a little bit. All of that, the imperfection that no one ever talks about, was so perfect because she was really there. This was really real. It wasn't another dream where she would wake up sad and alone on Vah Ruta, wishing that she had this beautiful Zora by her side.

"You know," Mipha whispered in between kisses. "We should probably go into the actual city."

"Oh, you must be exhausted!" Kodah pulled away, but left her hands on Mipha's shoulders. "I run an inn, now. Co-own, really. I can get you a bed for the night."

She laughed. "I'm not too tired, but-"

Kodah was already sweeping her up, though, hoisting her into her arms. "There we go! And now, into the city!"

And as Mipha laughed, holding onto Kodah around the neck... Everything was perfect. She was home. 

And the sunlight poured down onto her, warm against her skin. She took a deep breath. Her heart was beating, probably faster than it should due to the current status of them running across the Zora Great Bridge.

She was alive.

Mipha was finally alive.

And as Kodah carried her, she never wanted to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love <3


	28. Zelpha - Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda has a nightmare, and Mipha calms her down

Zelda didn't often get a full night of sleep, anymore. When she first came back, at first, finally free of the Calamity, she slept like a baby. But now...

Even after Mipha had come back, the nightmares persisted. She could see the sight lines for the Divine Beast's beams disappear one by one. She knew what that meant, that they were gone.  
Sometimes, though, it was completely different dreams. They were all on tightropes, walking across a ravine like the one up in Tabantha. Stronger and stronger the wind began to blow, and no matter how good their balance was... Each one fell. And Zelda was left alone, unable to fall, unable to move. Frozen in place.

***

Other times they were all in a forest, traveling through, fighting monsters, something, anything. It was hard to tell what exactly it was, but... The outcome was always the same. Zelda knew the moment she awoke in her dream what would happen, she knew it wasn't real, but...

"Zelda, stay close to me!" Urbosa instructed, bashing a bokoblins face in with Daybreaker, her shield. "We're almost out!"

"Don't worry, Princess!" Daruk added, accidentally knocking down a tree as he fought, Boulder Breaker swinging.

Link didn't say anything, just like he was before the calamity. He just turned and nodded, falling into place near her.

"Where are all of these things coming from?" Revali grumbled from above, filling every monster he saw with arrows. "This is just getting ridiculous; I'm running low on arrows."

And there Mipha was, further out into the woods, felling the monsters as quickly as she could with her trident. The way the sunlight was hitting her jewelry seemed to light her on fire...

Until Zelda realized that the forest truly was ablaze. Only the bokoblins seemed not to be affected, only swarming them in greater numbers. It was getting hard to breathe, hard to see. One by one, her friends fell. Urbosa took a blow that would have killed her, striking with a final burst of lightning that only fueled the fire. Revali ran out of arrows, fighting with beak and talons until he dropped dead. Daruk's protection shattered. Link collapsed on the ground from his wounds, having lost too much blood. 

The monsters were surrounding her now, more than just bokoblins. There were moblins and lizalfos, spitting at her feet. Lynels snarled and beat their chests, blowing flames to speed the burning of the forest. Chuchus coated the ground, keese filling the air...

Then there was Mipha, grabbing her hand.

"Come on, Zelda! We need to get out of here!"

But she couldn't move, her feet were trapped in place. Every word she tried to say died in her throat. All of her wanted to move, to run, to get out of here with Mipha, but the flames were just getting too great. Smoke surrounded them.

And the monsters caught sight of Mipha, realizing she wasn't one of their own.

Zelda sobbed as they tore her to pieces, begging her body to be able to move, to be able to do something, but no. She was gone.

She was gone.

Guardians surrounded her now, four of them all clustered around. Above her was a flying one, laying it's spotlight down on her.

And in between the guardians were the Blights. Windblight with its cannon and it's guardian eye, pointing it's lazer at her chest. Thunderblight with its mockery of Urbosa's sword and shield, twitching it's head. Fireblight's swird was coated in flames, smoking in the air.

And Waterblight held its spear like Mipha did, hovering over her.

Zelda took a deep breath. This wasn't real. This wasn't real. All of this was just a dream.

But for a hundred years, it was more than that.

All her friends were dead and gone.

Zelda screamed, and light poured off of her, incinerating everything around, leaving her alone, floating in the dark. 

***

She woke up screaming, her throat raw, whole body shaking. Tears streamed down her face, dripping from her chin.

"Shh, Zelda... Zelda, shh... You're okay. You're okay." Mipha's hands were gentle on her shoulder and her arms, slowly relaxing her and bringing her back down. "It's okay; you're alright. I'm here."

Zelda nodded, trying to calm her ragged breathing. Suddenly her body lost that strength, that rush of adrenaline. Collapsing backward, she felt her body being swallowed by their soft mattress.

Mipha continued to pull her hair away from her face with one hand, the other resting on her hands. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, taking in a shuddering breath. "I think so."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Zelda shook her head, then nodded. "No, yes... I don't know. It might help, but..."

As she looked at Mipha's soft face above her, just barely illuminated by her bioluminescence and the moonlight coming in through their window, all she could see was the dream. Struggling to hold herself still, Zelda attempted to get ahold of her breathing.

Mipha nodded slowly, settling in beside her. "It's alright if you don't want to, just... I'm here for you, if you need me."

She took a deep breath. "It was a forest this time, and the monsters kept pouring in... Then a fire started and I was surrounded and..."

"Shh..." Mipha wiped the tears from her face, gently pushing hair away from her forehead. "None of that is real. We're all safe."

"I know that, but... Every time I see you..."

"You see the dream?"

She swallowed, then nodded.

"It's okay. You're alright." Mipha reassured her, but her voice was breaking just a little bit. "Is there anything I can do? Can I get you some tea?"

"I'll come down with you." Zelda decided, sitting back up. "But yes, tea sounds amazing."

She smiled, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Alright then, you have to get up first..."

They both wandered down the stairs into the main living area, trying to be quiet even though they both knew no one else was here to be awoken. Zelda could feel her hands shaking, her legs wobbling a little on the stairs, but...

Every time she looked at Mipha, she got a little more real. Slowly but surely, the image from the dream was fading away. She was alive. They were okay.

"The water's almost hot." Mipha let her know, putting the lid back onto the teapot. "Here, sit down."

That jerked Zelda out of her thoughts, and she slid into one of their dining room chairs. Absently, she picked at the slightly rough edge of their table. She could feel it, prickly against her fingers. The chair was cold, and so was the floor under her bare feet.

Feeling. Living. She wasn't surrounded, she was okay.

Mipha sat down with the tea, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she slid the mug into her hands. Instantly her face heated up. Turning bright red, she was sure. 

"Thank you." Zelda whispered in a little voice, wrapping her cold fingers around the hot cup.

Steam carried the scent of delicious herbal tea up to her nose, smelling like ginger and lemongrass, soothing to her body.

"How are you feeling?" Mipha asked, laying a hand gently on her arm. "Okay?"

She nodded. "Can we go up and drink this in bed? The floor is cold."

"Of course."

Careful so that neither of them spilled, they made their way back upstairs to their bed, sitting down and pulling the blankets over their legs. It always made Zelda smile when they sat like this. Mipha had been growing taller, since she had gotten back, but most of her height was always in her torso, like the Zora have a tendency toward. That made it so that, when they were sitting down, Mipha towered over her.  
She liked that. She loved the way that Mipha was taller than her, and how she talked so softly, and how she made her tea so strong. Everything about her was perfect, and-

"I don't deserve you." Zelda whispered into her tea, sighing ever so softly. "You're so good to me."

Mipha shook her head. "You can't say that."

"I really don't."

"No." She shook her head again, more insistent this time. "Zelda, I... I love you. I love waking up in the middle of the night and talking you down, I love making tea for you, I love how soft you smile and how short you look when you're sitting down. You can't say that you don't deserve it, because I love you."

Zelda could feel herself tearing up. "I would hug you, but I have tea."

Mipha smiled. "Alright. Tea first, then?"

She nodded. It was just so peaceful, now, sitting here in bed, her hands warmed by the hot cup of tea, her girlfriend sitting next to her... This isn't where she thought she would be. And yet, here they were, living in Link's old home in Hateno, in bed, sipping tea. Quiet. Everything was... Quiet. There was no pressure anymore to defeat a great evil, to unlock any ancient powers, it was just the two of them now.  
Before long she had reached the end of her cup, and set it down on the side table by their bed. Yawning, Zelda laid her head in Mipha's lap. 

Quiet. Everything was just peace and quiet.

By day they went down to Fort Hateno, and she would study the guardians there while Mipha made small talk with travelers and practiced her spear work on the targets set up. Around midday they could go up to the communal cook pot to try their best at making something edible, even though they were terrible cooks. Then they could go to the beach, just staring out at the ocean...  
And at night she could do this. Resting her head in Mipha's lap as she gently strokes her hair, humming a little tune. 

It was all said and done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally done
> 
> Comments are love <3


End file.
